She Makes Me Smile
by donnap
Summary: Come along on the adventure.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: The Favor**

Stephanie pulled into the garage at Rangeman and parked her car in her spot next to the elevator. Well the parking spot technically didn't have her name on it, but it always seemed to be available.

She hadn't talked to Ranger since yesterday when they met in the alley next to the bonds office and she was getting a little nervous about why she was at Rangeman today.

She hit the button and the elevator door opened and closed quietly once she was inside.

Binkie, who was manning the lobby called Ranger immediately as soon as he saw Stephanie's car pull into the garage. He had to, it was mandatory procedure whenever she entered the building.

"Stephanie Plum is on her way up to five Boss." He said as soon as he heard Rangers "Report!"

"Noted." Ranger said as he looked at his watch. Almost four in the afternoon. Ranger was pleased that she and the cop were through, officially now for about two months. Morelli was promoted to Chief Detective and had been reassigned to the Atlantic City Police Department. The only people in Trenton who missed Joe Morrelli were his family and of course, Helen Plum. Stephanie did not.

He heard a knock at the door.

"Enter!" He bellowed. He stood up, walked around his desk at kissed her on the cheek as she came into his office. "This is a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you Babe?"

Stephanie just stood there trying to get up the nerve.

Ranger could tell that something was bothering her so he just gave her some time as he returned to his desk chair.

"Are you working tomorrow night?" She asked.

"You know I'm always on call but yes, I'm on a half-schedule while Manny goes to see his niece in a school play. I'll probably work patrol until 9 or 10. Why?"

"I wanted to ask you a favor."

"Sure Babe, anything."

Stephanie took that as an opening to start the speech that she had practiced in the car on the way over. She started and didn't pause for any punctuation.

"Well there is this show coming on TV tomorrow night and I don't have cable anymore and I know that my dad is not going to let me watch it on his TV instead of watching _Monday Night Football_ and I'm pretty sure you get that channel upstairs and I was wondering if I could use your TV tomorrow night?"

"Stephanie," Ranger laughed. "When I said 'Sure Babe, anything.' I didn't need you to go into your explanation. You should know that I'd do anything for you. So, help yourself tomorrow."

Stephanie smiled.

"Do you want me to have Ella make you something for dinner?"

"No, that's not necessary. Uhm, the show runs until 10. Is that gonna bother you when you get home?"

"Nope."

"Okay. Well, thanks." She had a very large smile on her face. "Have a great night."

Stephanie started to leave.

"So, you're not going to tell me what show you are so anxious to see?" asked Ranger.

"It's really not that important. Just to me." Then she kissed him and left.

Ranger was intrigued. He thought about having someone go through all the scheduled shows for Monday night, but he thought that he'd just let it alone for now.

Stephanie had a reasonably good Monday bringing in three low-bond skips. Actually, they were repeat offenders. She always wandered, 1: Why they kept breaking the law, 2: Why Vinnie still posted bail for them and, 3: Why they always failed to show up for court. Still, their lack of attention netted her a good day's pay and almost next month's rent.

She got home early enough to take a shower, do her hair a pack her dinner. She planned to eat in front of Rangers huge TV. She grabbed a plastic grocery bag and put in two peanut butter and olive sandwiches, a big bag of microwave popcorn with extra butter and a couple of bottles of water. Before she left, she placed a few treats in Rex's cage and let him know that she would be home around 10:30. She didn't want him to worry.

Sure enough, her parking space was open at Haywood. She took the elevator up at around 7:45 and she pulled out her first sandwich and sat Indian style on the floor with her back leaning up against Rangers coffee table. Stephanie somehow managed to get the massive TV remote to work and with a minute or two the spare, she anxiously waited for her show to come on.

"Did I see Bomber enter the building a minute ago?" Lester questioned as he got into the passenger seat of the Bronco.

"Yep, she wanted to watch a cable show. She apparently had to drop her cable service." Ranger said as he started the engine and backed out.

"That's gone be really hard on her during hockey season huh? You know how much she loves the Rangers." Then Lester added, "Maybe you can secretly pay her cable bill."

"Thought about it but she would not like it. Maybe I can get her in the building for some extra work and an extra paycheck."

"Sounds like a plan. "

Both Ranger and Lester stopped talking, got into their zones and started their quick patrol.

At 9:50 he opened the door to his apartment on 7 and dropped his keys in the dish.

The living room light was very dim but the size of his TV illuminated the area so well that he could he see his Babe. She was lying on the floor with a sofa pillow under her head. She looked like a little girl who ignored her parents warning about sitting too close to the TV.

"Ella brought up your dinner and put it in the oven. She said you know what to do." She said without turning her gaze from the TV.

"Got it."

He walked to the kitchen and turned the oven to warm, then he took a beer out of the refrigerator and grabbed a fork and a knife from a drawer. While he started to sit in his chair he noticed the ending credits. As the show ended Stephanie turned off the TV and stood and stretched. She was smiling.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but did you just watch a show about Peru?"

"Yep," Stephanie said as she threw the pillow back on the sofa, grabbed the almost empty bag of popcorn and sat, knees first in the chair next to Ranger.

"Especially Machu Picchu. Those people were amazing." She put her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands.

"Stephanie Michelle Plum, you never cease to amaze me."

"Thank you. . . I guess."

"Would you like to explain to me why you made such a big deal over this program?"

"Promise not to laugh?"

"Nope." Ranger said quickly.

"What? You're supposed to say 'I would never laugh at you Babe.'"

He laughed back. "You're wrong. I'll leave my opinion open at this time." Buzz! The oven signaled that his dinner was warmed enough. As he got up to retrieve his plate, Stephanie started to explain.

"As you can probably guess, I wasn't the best student in high school."

Ranger nodded his head again as he sat down at the end of the table. He offered to get her a fork of her own and share his dinner but she said that was full. So he started to eat his very healthy fish with rice and vegetables.

"And . . . having Valerie, the "perfect student" in all of the teachers' minds as my older sister did not help at all."

He nodded again.

"Anyway, when I was in 10th grade, all of the sophomores had to do a social studies project. You know with the poster board, term paper and a big display for a competition. Did you have to do that at your school?

"Yes I did. Mine was on the Cuban Missile Crisis and since I was living in Miami at that time in my life, it was a big deal. I made a B. Go on."

"Well, all the sophomores were given a long list of suggested topics to choose from and I of course waited until the last minute. I really didn't care at all." She said as she grabbed a piece of broccoli off of Rangers plate.

"I tried to grab the country of Jabuti. Come on, what kind of name for a country is Ja-Bootie? But Mitchell Sharp, the dumbest guy on the offensive line got it before me." She laughed as she remembered, "He couldn't give his presentation because every time he said Jabuti he'd blush and everyone started laughing. Anyway, the day that we had to tell the teacher our topic I went through the list of the leftover topics and chose Machu Picchu. I mean is not as funny sounding as Ja-Bootie but I thought I'd give it a go.

So I started researching and I just got hooked on it. These people were amazing. Seriously Ranger, the things that they had to do to survive . . . . Well it still blows my mind." Another piece of broccoli made it into Stephanie's mouth.

"So how did you end up with the project?" Ranger had never seen his Babe with such a genuine smile before. He had no choice but to smile back.

"I won the whole thing," she said proudly. "I still have the Sophomore Social Studies 1st Place trophy in my room at my mom's house."

"Proud of you Babe."

"So, when I saw that this special was coming on tonight, I knew that I had to see it."

"You should go." Ranger said.

Stephanie immediately got a serious look on her face. "Oh I'm sorry, I've overstayed and it is late I'm sorry . . ."

He cut her off. "No, I didn't mean that you should go home now. I meant that you should go to  
Peru. They offer tours of Machu Picchu you know"

She almost snorted when he said that. "Knowing and doing are two separate things"

"Explain."

"As much as I admire the Inca people, I know I couldn't do it , . . anything even remotely like that today."

"Okay you lost me," he said as he finished his meal.

"These people lived with basically nothing. I've never even slept outside in my life. They lived without . . ."

"Wait! Are you telling me that you have never camped out. Not even in the Girl Scouts? Anything?"

"Ranger, Jersey girls do not camp out. Well, maybe drunk on the beach at Point Pleasant, which I have never done by the way."

"No family camping trip over the summer? Nothing?"

"Well, once my grandmother borrowed a tent and put it up in her backyard. But we didn't last very long. We both had to use the bathroom and then it started to rain so we went inside and watched TV."

Ranger put down his fork and pushed his empty plate forward on the table and simply clasped his hands together. He looked at his Babe and became very quiet.

 _Oh shit!_ Stephanie had seen that look before. I was the look he shows when he is strategizing a takedown. She thought that now was a good time to leave.

"Well. Thanks for the TV tonight. Rex is waiting for me so, I gotta go." She said as she picked up her bag of popcorn and

"Freeze!"

She did.

"Sit!"

She did.

"We are going on a camping trip for . . . two nights in the wilderness. Just you and I. You pick the time and I'll pick the place. We will hike and I will teach you how to survive outside."

"Gee thanks but, I can't do that." Again she started to leave and grabbed her purse and but this time he got in front of her.

"Why?"

"I just can't." She looked at her feet.

"Why?"

"It's embarrassing."

"I don't care. Tell me why."

She paused. "I'm afraid to use the bathroom outside. Okay, you happy? I'm a girl who has never gone to the bathroom outside. I made it into my thirties and I never had to do it. So there. Happy?"

He put his hands on her shoulders. "Babe. You can learn to handle your bodily functions and enjoy the beauty . . ."

This time she cut him off. "No. No. You see. Its okay for a man to say that cuz you can just drop your zipper and pee on a tree, but . . . No uh uh. Can't do it."

"Stephanie Michelle Plum."

 _Shit, shit, shit._ He said her full name. This isn't going to be fun.

"I'm surprised at you. With all of the things that you've been through, you are going to place the fact that you are afraid to drop trow outside the reason why you've never experience the beauty of Mather Nature?"

She nodded her head.

He put his arms around her and said the most unfair way to win this debate.

"Do you trust me?"

She slumped into his arms. "Of course." She whispered into his chest.

"How much?"

"With everything."

He pulled back so he could look her in the eyes. "Then you pick the dates and I'll pick the place. Deal?"

"Can I get back to you?"

"Sure. But don't wait too long." He cupped her face in his hands and preceded to give her a mind numbing kiss. When the kiss was over she looked up at him and he had the 200 watt smile.

 _Oh shit!_ She said to herself as he walked her to the elevator. _I guess I'm going camping._

Ranger decided to escort her all the way to her car. As the elevator descended he could see her concerned facial expressions.

"Something's burning Babe?"

"How about we just go to the zoo. That way we can be outside and look at the animals."

"Nope. We're going camping."

 _Shit!_

"I guess I can't talk you into a nice campground?"

"Nope. It's just going to be you and me and . . .

"Mother Nature. I got it."

When they got to the garage he leaned her back against her car and sealed the deal with a passionate kiss. As passionate as it could be knowing that they were on the monitors.

"Will I see you tomorrow?" He asked.

"Yes I guess." She admitted.

Stephanie got in her car and drove away, watching the image of a grinning Ranger getting smaller and smaller as she turned and left the Rangeman building.

 _If only I'd signed up for Jabuti!_ _  
_

Ranger couldn't help smiling as he washed the plate and utensils and headed to shower to get ready for bed. By the time he sat on his bed and looked at his phone he saw a text from his Babe.

 _How about we just walk around the Paramus Mall? Now that's a jungle!_ _  
_  
He texted her back. _No. Get some sleep Babe_.

Stephanie did not get a lot of sleep that night and that was evident when she walked into the bonds office the next morning carrying a box of doughnuts. She explained her dilemma.

"He wants you to do what?" Said Lula and Connie at the same time!

"He wants to take me camping. You know. Outdoors in the wilderness."

"Well," Connie confided. "I wouldn't mind being anywhere with him alone but, why in the woods?"

"I don't know where he came up with this idea?" She said as shrugged her shoulders.

Stephanie didn't want them to know that the idea came from her _sophomoric_ social studies project. "You know how he is. Once he gets his mind on something he's not going to let it drop."

She continued. "You do know what that means don't you know? I'll have to use the bathroom outside. . . In the woods. Number one and number two. Have either of you had to do that?"

"Hell no. Even in my former profession when I was outside on the street, I'd always made a deal with a store keeper or fellow ho."

Connie said, "Never! My closest thing was using the bathroom at the high school stadium. That was pretty nasty. There were spiders everywhere! And it seemed like the toilet paper was damp. Never again."

"Great." Stephanie admitted. "You two are not helping me."

"Let's Google it." Connie said.

The three of them gathered around Connie's monitor and started to look at "How To" websites. Then they saw some You Tube videos.

"That is just disgusting." Connie said. "I hope he is not going to watch you."

"Na, na, now that would be just freaky." Lula said almost in shock. "I can't believe this chick let someone film her doing her business!"

They were so caught up in the computer that they didn't here Ranger come in.

"Morning ladies." He said starling the trio.

Lula didn't miss a beat. She went up to Ranger and said as she looked him over. "I don't care how good looking a man is, he is not going to expect me to do that. No uh uh.!"

"Do what?"

"Shit in the woods!" She turned around, grabbed a doughnut and sat on the couch mumbling a lot of things under her breath.

Ranger rarely sighed but he did just then. "Did you get any sleep last night Babe?"

"A little. It's just that I don't think . . ."

"Enough." He said as he put his arm around her. "You can do it. And I'm sure that once you completed "the task," you'll see that it wasn't as traumatic as you think." He kissed her on the forehead. "Connie, here are the files from last week. Anything new?"

"Vinnie's at the court house now. I'll let you know."

"Babe. Can I see you outside?"

Instead of going to the alley where they always went he walked her to his car.

Make sure you pick three days in a row. Don't wait too long because it will be getting colder soon. Also, you need to get into the gym and do some stepping and lifting. I expect to travel 10 miles a day with full pack. And," he leaned forward to give her a peck on the lips, "buy yourself some good hiking boots with laces that go all the way up. You'll need to work them in as well."

"Gotta go." He went to his driver's side door and before he sat down he added, "Tell the duo inside that when I'm done training you, they're next."

Stephanie watched him drive away. She went back in the bonds office and grabbed 2 doughnuts and sat down on the sofa completely defeated.

"I guess you didn't change his mind?" Asked Connie.

She shook her head from side to side.

"Do you have a calendar? I'm supposed to pick three days for this experience."

Connie grabbed one of those free calendars she got from the hardware store down the street and the three of them came up with the dates. September 13, 14, 15. Not too cold at night, no menstrual cycle and enough time to break in a pair of boots and get fit.

 _I can do this._

 _Ten miles a day._

 _Piece of cake._

 _Seventeen days to get ready._

 _Yikes!  
_ _  
_

On the way back to Haywood Ranger called Tank.

"Are you available?"

Tank looked at the pile of paperwork on his desk. Everything was due yesterday. Immediately he said "Yes!"

"Meet me in my office in ten. We have a mission to plan."

"10-4."


	2. Chapter 2

_Standard disclaimer. All characters are from Janet Evanovich._

 _-  
From Chapter One_

On the way back to Haywood Ranger called Tank.

"Are you available?"

Tank looked at the pile of paperwork on his desk. Everything was due yesterday. Immediately he said "Yes!"

"Meet me in my office in ten. We have a mission to plan."

"10-4."

 **Chapter 2**

The time flew by. The hours that she put in the gym showed in her legs and arms as she worked hard on the treadmill and the free weights. She felt better than she had in a long time. At least physically. She still got worried about that small little thing like dropping her pants to, you know, use Mather Nature's facilities.

It got around Rangeman that she was apprehensive about doing her business outside and the men started to give her advice. Woody said that she should do it as fast as she could because bugs would fly into her . . . you know. Ram told her to choose an area with trees because he told her about a time when he was doing it in an open area and he looked around and a bear was watching him. Cal told her that the smell of her urine would bring out the earthworms. Great!

Stephanie purchased some boots and worked them in as Ranger suggested. Instead of going to the mall, she went to Army Surplus and got her some serious boots. Blisters and sore spots came and went and now, although she'd refuse to admit it to anyone, they were one of the most favorite and comfortable pair of shoes she owned.

Ranger suggested that she come over in the late afternoon the day before they would leave because of their early departure hour. She didn't know what clothes to pack. There was no way that she was going to get naked outside. Remember Woody said bugs would fly into . . . you know. So she threw 2 pair of jeans, 2 long sleeve shirts, a couple of t-shirts, socks, a change of underwear and sports bra into a bag. No make-up. If Ranger wanted her to experience the natural beauty that Mother Nature has to offer, she'd make him experience the natural everything that Stephanie Plum has to offer. She didn't even bring mascara. As she was zipping up her bag the phone rang.

"Yo?"

"Just checking on you. Do I need to send someone to come get you?"

"No, I'm just finishing up here. Why?"

"Just making sure that you're not going get in your car and drive in the opposite direction."

"No, I'm not gonna do that." _At least I don't think I'm gonna do that._

"Glad to hear that. See you in a few." And then he hung up. Stephanie wondered if his phone manners improved when he talked to his mother.

Putting her bag and purse over her shoulder she grabbed Rex's cage and made her way to her car.

As she seat belted his cage to the passenger seat she confided in him how nervous she was. "I hope I don't embarrass myself Rex." And she added, "I can tell you this because I trust you not to repeat it but, I'm really getting excited." Rex didn't even come out of his can. Stephanie took that as a good sign.

RSRSRS

Ranger and Binkie met her in the garage. As she parked in her spot, Ranger opened up her door and gave her a kiss and Binkie got Rex.

Ranger's phone rang. "Report!"

Stephanie grabbed her bag and purse and headed to the elevator.

"I'll be right up. Babe, I just got a call about a potential client. I have to go meet with the core team. Go with Binkie, watch him and ask about everything that he puts in our packs. Remember everything because when we get back, you're going to have to put it all back." He instructed.

Ranger then said to Binkie, "Secure a couple of Two Packs-Wet, put the cover in my pack. Show her the proper way to pack and explain everything." Then Ranger handed Binkie a key.

"Yes sir." Binkie said. Stephanie thought that if he wasn't holding Rex's cage he would have saluted. "Any MRE's?"

"Go ahead and pack a few." He smiled. "Let her pick what she wants."

"Yes sir."

Ranger kissed Stephanie on the forehead. "Bye Babe, I'll see you up on seven later."

"Okay, follow me Ms. Plum," Binkie said as he managed to hold Rex's cage and open up the stairwell door.

"Binkie, you've known me for years, please call me Stephanie."

"Yes ma'am." She sighed.

They entered the storage room and he turned on the light. Stephanie had never been in this area of the building before. This room was huge and it was illuminated by those hanging fluorescent lighting fixtures. On one side of the room was what seemed to be like cages with sections sectioned off with floor to ceiling chain-link fences. Each section had a locked gate. On the other side of the room were storage cabinets. In the middle of the room were large rolling tables.

Binkie put Rex down on a table. "You can put your bags here Ms. Plum."

Stephanie gave up getting to him to call her by her first name.

He rolled one of the larger tables closer to the storage cabinets and opened the doors to them all. Wow! That's all she could think of. Those cabinets were filled with . . ., well everything. And neat! Martha Stewart had nothing on these military men.

He started to pull out items in such a precise way and lay them on the table also in a precise way. Two of each. He seemed to pull out things for days.

Then he took the key Ranger had given him and went to the first caged area. He opened the gate and grabbed what looked like a metal and canvas suitcase.

"What is that?" she asked.

"Ranger's backpack," he said.

"It looks huge."

"He had his custom made. Most Rangers do. These other cages are for the rest of the core team. You want to see something big, just look at Tank's?" Binkie said as he pointed to Tanks area.

She went over and looked at the items in the cages. "When they get called on a mission, they get there equipment from this room?"

"Yes, ma'am. Now, if you follow me, we'll find a backpack for you."

When they got a pack more Stephanie's size he instructed her to place the items into hers exactly as he place them into Ranger's.

She was impressed with Binkie's knowledge of everything. A few times she questioned an item. They put in everything from a first aid kit to a sewing kit. Binkie had a reasonable explanation for everything that went in.

Stephanie remembered what Ranger said. "Ranger said to make a couple of two packs? What does that mean?"

"A pack for two nights." _Duh, made sense._

"And he said to put the cover in his. Cover?"

"The tent." _Again, duh._

"What's a MRE?"

Binkie asked her to follow him to another cabinet with a large pull-out drawer as he explained. "Meals Ready to Eat. Soldiers carry them on long missions. Look through these and choose what you want."

Stephanie was surprised to see choices like tortilla soup, pasta Alfredo, roast beef and even some deserts. She grabbed a few and brought them to the table. Binkie added them to Ranger's pack.

"Do we need to grab some for him?" She asked.

"Probably not. I believe he plans to fish and eat off the land."

 _Probably grass and twigs._ "Can you keep a secret?" She asked. "I'm getting nervous. I've never done anything like this before, camping in the wilderness."

Binkie made a short laugh.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Excuse me Miss Plum but do you know who you're going camping with?"

Stephanie shrugged her shoulders and gave him a confused look.

"Ma'am. You are going camping with Captain Carlos Manoso. A man who has successfully brought soldiers in to and out of missions that many men wouldn't. A man who has been awarded more military honors then anyone I know." Binkie started to smile in admiration of his boss. "He's a legend. When I signed up to start Ranger training, we had to study and discuss his missions as one part of a class."

Binkie started to zip up Ranger's backpack. "So forgive me Miss Plum for laughing but, you don't have anything to be nervous about." Binkie zipped up her backpack and between the two of them they carried them and Rex to the apartment on seven.

"Tonight, add your clothes and personal items to the open section of your backpack. It's been a real pleasure working with you ma'am. I hope you have a great time." He said as he left with a smile.

Binkie's description of Ranger was eye-opening. She kept thinking about what Binkie said and the Ranger _he knew_. She took off her boots and sat Indian-style in the living room chair and just thought . . . about a lot of things. Mostly about how sheltered her Burg upbringing had been. The house where she grew up was about 5 miles down the street, but it seemed to be worlds away. The people in the Haywood building were so fabulous. They did and experienced things in their lives. They've traveled. They've fought for their country. They've sacrificed for strangers. They supported each other. They were happy too. She couldn't remember a time when her family did any of those things.

Sure, her family went to Disneyworld once, and to a Broadway show once, and Stephanie remembered a school trip to the Statue of Liberty when her mother chaperoned, which was a big mistake. Stephanie found herself getting very depressed because she could not describe her family as supportive and happy like the people here. She had missed so much life.

About an hour later Ella brought up dinner and a sealed pack of food for the trip. "Stephanie, here is some food that will get you through the first day." She said as she placed it in the refrigerator. "And there are some granola and energy bars in there as well. I just saw Ranger and he said that he would be up here in just a few minutes but he said that if you were hungry, you could start eating now."

Ella crossed to Stephanie who had now stood up and walked to the counter. "Have a great time. I've always enjoy camping out."

"Why?"

"Luis does all the cooking! Now that's a vacation!" Ella gave Stephanie a kiss on the forehead and left.

"Thank you, Ella." She said.

She went to the cabinet and got everything out and set the table. That's one thing that she learned to do in the Burg. Setting the table. Her mom told her repeatedly that she would never be a good cook but if you can set a proper table, it would be better than nothing.

Ranger came in as she was folding the napkins. "This looks so nice. Thanks." He said as he grabbed her and gave her a long, passionate kiss. "I've been waiting to do that all day. Let's eat!" he said as he sat down.

Stephanie insisted on dishing out the food. "What would you like to drink?" Ranger started to get up but she added "I'll get it, just tell me what me what." She insisted.

"Beer."

She went a grabbed one for him and she got a bottle of water for her.

Ranger was a little surprised how quiet his Babe was. "Are you getting excited?"

Stephanie shook her head.

He noticed that she barely touched her food. He broke the silence. "I have a map that will show you where we will be for the next couple of days. I'll show you after dinner."

"What was the big news today?" She asked.

"Rangeman has an opportunity to make a bid to provide security for a new private airport. Peerless Aviation is opening a new airstrip for the private jets that a lot of very important people and celebrities have today. It would be a massive forward step for our company." He explained.

When Ranger cleaned his plate, she took it with hers and rinsed it off and put everything in the dishwasher. Then she returned to the table and wiped it down. Ranger went to his apartment office and brought out the map and a highlighter. He unrolled it and put his beer bottle on one side and her water bottle on the other.

"This," he put her finger on the map, "is where we will start. Hickory Run State Park in White Haven Pennsylvania."

"Wow, we're going that far away?"

"It's only about two hours away. So then, we are" he uncapped the highlighter and ran it along as he talked, "going to hike about 10 miles downhill tomorrow and set up camp at the Lehigh River right about here." He highlighted a star at that point. He noticed that she started to smile. "Then the next day we are going to sleep late, eat breakfast and hike uphill for 8 or 9 miles until we almost walk out of the park at Lake Harmony. And that's where we will be picked up."

"Do you really think I can do this?"

"Absolutely." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a hug. "We're leaving at 0400 so we really need to make it an early night. I'm going to go take a shower okay?"

"Can I come too?" she asked.

"I was hoping you would ask that." He said and then he scooped her up in his arms and headed towards the bedroom.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Standard Disclaimer: All characters belong to Janet Evanovich**_

 _From Chapter 2_

" _Do you really think I can do this?"_

" _Absolutely." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a hug. "We're leaving at 0400 so we really need to make it an early night. I'm going to go take a shower okay?"_

" _Can I come too?" she asked._

" _I was hoping you would ask that." He said and then he scooped her up in his arms and headed towards the bedroom._

 **Chapter 3: Cracker Barrel**

At 0330 Ranger smacked his Babe on the butt and said "Up and at'em soldier!"

"Sir. Yes Sir!" she said as she jumped out of bed.

He was surprised that she didn't roll over for 5 more minutes like always. After all, they did a lot of physical activity in the shower last night. She showered again, dressed and gathered all of her items and was packed and ready 20 minutes later. She went to the counter and gave Rex some crunchies and a fresh water bottle and Ranger could have sworn he heard he say that she would bring him a souvenir.

Ranger laughed out loud! "Let's go!"

Ranger put the food pack from Ella into his backpack and they both grabbed everything and headed down to the garage. Tank was already there with the SUV's engine running and the back doors open. Ranger and Stephanie put their packs in the back and Tank closed the doors. Stephanie took the backseat and Ranger took the front passenger seat.

"How long is going to take?" Stephanie asked as they pulled out of the garage into the dark early morning.

Tank looked at the rearview mirror onto the backseat, "We're are going to stop for breakfast at Cracker Barrel in about an hour and a half."

"Yeah! I love Cracker Barrel," she screamed.

"That was the only way I could get Tank to drive us. He's a Cracker Barrel nut too." Ranger admitted.

Once they got out of the city and onto the interstate, Stephanie looked out of the window and started asking rather interesting questions of the two military men in the front of the vehicle.

"Will my cell phone work on our trip?" She asked.

"Probably not for long. But Binkie packed the SAT phone right?" Tank asked.

"Yes he did. By the way it was amazing watching him do that."

"He's the best." Ranger said.

"Well, it seems to me that me that a man would want to pack his own . . ." She said but was interrupted by Ranger.

"Babe, in the military there is a needed level of trust in your fellow soldiers. Many people build up that trust by taking care of others by doing things like packing a backpack for a mission."

Tank interjected, "Little Girl it's like skydivers. They don't usually pack their own parachutes. They trust others."

"Wow!"

A couple of miles later. "Do you think we'll see any grizzly bears?"

Ranger smiled, "Grizzly bears? Probably not. Maybe a brown bear or two. Unfortunately bears love campgrounds because of the possibilities of food."

"In a way, many of these bears have become domesticated." Tank added emphatically. "But they're not domesticated so don't feed them!"

"Okay, I won't." _Sorry Yogi. Sorry Boo Boo._

When they passed the next interstate sign both Stephanie and Tank pointed and shouted "Cracker Barrel, 2 miles!"

It was only 0550 when they parked in the Cracker Barrel lot so Tank and Stephanie sat down, each in their own rocking chair on the porch and talked about what they were getting. Tank was going to start off with the Grandpa's Country Fried Breakfast and then he was going to add an order Uncle Hershel's Favorite with the grilled pork chop. Stephanie was focusing on the Sunrise Sampler with and extra order of pancakes and biscuits.

Ranger, who refused to rock, just stood there and shook his head at the two of them until the business opened and Sally, the hostess, welcomed them in.

"Hey, maybe I can buy a bag of candy for the hike?" Stephanie said as they walked through the country store part of the restaurant.

Since they were the first three customers, Sally let them pick out their own table.

"I'll be right back, get me some coffee and skim milk." Ranger said as he peeled off into the bathroom.

Tank and Stephanie chose a table by the window and they gave Bridget, their waitress, the drink order. It was at that time that Tank really looked at his Little Girl for the first time that day. He'd never seen her without makeup before and the morning light coming in through the window illuminated her natural features perfectly. Her wavy hair was flowing naturally around her shoulders.

"Oh my God!" Tank said quietly as he stared at Stephanie.

"What? Do I have a bug on me? What?" She said as she looked around her shoulders and waving her hands above her head. "Tank, what it is?"

"You are beautiful." He said.

"What?" She stopped waving her hands and looked at him like he had lost his mind.

"You – Are - Beautiful." He repeated and then he stood up and walked to other side of the table, held her hand and pulled her up to her feet and hugged her tight. Then he kissed her on the forehead.

"Uh, do you want to tell me what's going on?" Ranger said as he approached the table.

"Man." He said to Ranger as he sat back down again. "You are one lucky son of a bitch."

"I think he's lost his mind," Stephanie said.

"Look at her. She's beautiful." Tank repeated.

"Tank stop it. I'm serious." Stephanie said.

At that time Bridget showed up with their drinks and took their order.

Ranger looked at his Babe. He smiled. She blushed.

"Okay you two have got to stop staring at me. It's freaking me out," she said as she pinched, shook and ripped open two Sweet 'N Lows for her coffee. "We will be able to have coffee on the hike?"

Ranger nodded his head confident that Binkie packed it. "But, you may want to grab some pink packets. That we don't have."

"Got it." She said as she pocketed about ten Sweet 'N Low packets.

Forty-five minutes later they pulled back onto the interstate with their stomachs full, candy bought, and bathrooms used.

"Ranger, can we stop and get a camera? I forgot mine and the battery on my cell phone is gonna die and . . ."

"I brought one Babe."

"You did?" said Tank surprisingly. _Carlos Manoso never wants his picture taken._

"Why are you looking at me like that," Ranger said to Tank, "I'm on vacation. People take pictures on vacation."

Thirty minutes later Tank heard from the backseat, "Are we there yet?"

"Probably about an 45 minutes left to go," Tank informed her.

Ranger and Tank started to talk about Rangeman things and of course the Peerless Air Strip bid. Stephanie leaned her head against the window and took a nap and she didn't wake up until they parked at the Welcome Center for the state park.

Ranger went inside to file his hike plan with the Park Rangers. While he was inside Tank and Stephanie took the backpacks out of the SUV. Stephanie didn't know what to do with her purse. She really didn't need anything in it for a camping trip. Tank suggested that she keep her driver's license and the stolen Sweet 'N Lows with her, and let him take everything back to Haywood.

Ranger came out of the Park's office with a man in uniform and they walked up to the SUV.

"Babe, Stephanie Plum, I'd like you to meet Ranger Phillips." Ranger said politely. "He has approved our venture off of the park's trails."

"Normally we don't allow our guests to go off on their own but when Mr. Manoso explained that he is an Army Ranger, we happily made accommodations," said Ranger Phillips.

"Oh. Forgive me this is, well we call him Tank, he is also an Army Ranger. Tank, Ranger Phillips, Ranger Phillips, Tank," Ranger said with the appropriate gestures.

Stephanie thought she was in a bad Abbott and Costello comedy routine with every other word being "Ranger."

Ranger Phillips took Tank's cell phone number and the SAT phone number as well before he went back inside.

Tank took out two sets of dog tags for Ranger and Stephanie.

"Here you go." He handed Stephanie hers. "Not only do they have the basic information but they also have a GPS chip in them. That way if anything happens, we can come find you."

"Gee, you're not making me feel better Tank" She admitted.

"Little Girl you'll be fine. Now where is that camera? I want to take a photo." Tank asked.

Ranger took it out of the back pocket of his jeans and then, he and his Babe put on their backpacks and smiled!

Tank pointed the camera at them and said, "Say . . . Cracker Barrel!"

"Cracker Barrel!"

"Great! Now I want to see pictures from the whole trip okay?" Tank said as he handed the camera back to Ranger.

Tank hugged Stephanie and, well, he and Ranger didn't hug, they just bumped shoulders.

Ranger and Stephanie started their adventure as Tank leaned against the bumper of the SUV and watched them walk away.

Even though the backpacks were blocking his view, he could tell by her arm movements that is Little Girl was talking, and talking, and talking.

Tank just smiled.

-RSRSRSRS-

Author's note: _She Makes Me Smile_ is a 16 chapter story. I've already finished the text. As soon as I proof each chapter, I'll post them for you. Hope you are enjoying the adventure so far.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Standard Disclaimer: All characters belong to Janet Evanovich**_

 _From Chapter 3_

 _Ranger and Stephanie started their adventure as Tank leaned against the bumper of the SUV and watched them walk away._

 _Even though the backpacks were blocking his view, he could tell by her arm movements that his Little Girl was talking, and talking, and talking._

 _Tank just smiled._

 **Chapter a Four: Can I ask you a question?**

"Can I ask you a question?" Asked Stephanie.

"Yes."

"Did you really have to bribe Tank with a trip to Cracker Barrel to get him to drive us today?"

"No. He would have done it anyway, but I know how much he enjoys that restaurant so I sweetened the pot."

"I don't think I've ever seen one person eat as much before. You do realize that he alone ate five eggs and eight biscuits?"

"I saw that, but it's good for him to get out of his 'Tank Zone.' Just like I am getting out of my 'Ranger Zone' on this trip." He stopped and gave her a fashion show.

"See, no black. Blue jeans, t-shirt and a flannel shirt. I didn't even wear my black boots. These are brown. I only brought one gun instead of 2 and I didn't shave this morning so, in a couple of days I'm going to be looking like that grizzly bear you wanted to see."

She thought to herself. _He does look good!_

Just then she realized that she forgot something. "Carlos, can we go back, I forgot my toothbrush?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure that Binkie packed us one and . . . thanks for calling me Carlos. I love it when you call me by my name."

They walked a little further down the path and Stephanie reached out to touch a pretty leaf.

"Babe don't touch that! I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure that's poison ivy. Don't touch anything or eat a berry or something unless you know what it is."

"You would think that the park would remove poison ivy this so close to the path huh?"

They continued to walk and Stephanie continued to talk. "There was this _Gilligan's Island_ episode where Gilligan's ate something and he could read people's mind."

"I remember that one." Ranger added, "Everyone was reading each other's minds and they started fighting and Mr. and Mrs. Howell . . ."

"Wait! You watched _Gilligan's Island_ " Ranger watched TV? She couldn't fathom him sitting in front of the TV as a child.

"Babe I wasn't born at the age of 30. We're the same age. We probably watched the same TV shows."

"What was your favorite Saturday morning cartoon when you were a little boy? Wait! Don't tell me! Let me see if I can guess."

" _GI Joe_?"

"Nope."

They walked a bit.

" _He-Man, The Power of Greyskull_?"

"No. Too stupid."

" _H.R. Puffinstuff_?"

"No. Too weird."

" _Scooby Doo_?"

"Nope."

More walking.

" _Bugs Bunny_?"

"I loved Foghorn Leghorn but it wasn't my favorite show so keep on guessing."

They walked and Stephanie kept naming cartoon after cartoon from their childhood. Ranger kept saying "No."

 _"My Little Pony_?"

"Hell no! You give up?"

She admitted defeat.

" _Johnny Quest_. I used to love that show with the adventures that they solved each Saturday. But the best thing about the show was the . . ."

"Theme song!" They said at the same time. "Jinx" and they pointed to each other and tried to pinch each other like a couple of kids.

After they performed an absolutely horrific rendition of the _Johnny Quest_ theme song, they took a break and sat on a log along the path. Ranger used this time to show his Babe how to use a compass because they were going to leave the park trail in a minute.

"So," he started, "we are at approximately 75 latitude and 41 longitude. In about 3 miles we are going to start walking toward New Jersey." So he asked her which way they should turn.

Stephanie looked at the compass. "I think we should go this way, and she pointed through the woods to her right."

"Yes! You got it."

While he returned the compass to his pocket, she started to pick up pine cones. Just the pretty ones mind you.

"Which ones do you think Rex would like better? The ones that are wide open or these that are still closed? I told him I'd bring him a souvenir."

"You know there are going to be pine cones throughout the hike. You don't have to pick up and carry the first ones you see. You can wait until we're ready to leave."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. It's like shopping at the first gift store you see when you know that you are going to be passing by a lot of the same gift stores throughout your vacation."

"Yeah. You're right." And she dropped the pine cones.

They turned off the trail and continued to talk about anything and everything from their childhood. They had a lot of the same likes and dislikes from TV. They had the same classes in high school. Ranger said he received good grades until about the ninth grade when he started to get involved the wrong gang and got shipped off to live with his grandmother.

Then they walked in silence for a long time. Stephanie was enjoying the sounds and smells of nature. Since they were no longer on the park's path where they could walk side by side, Ranger took the lead and she followed.

He then turned his body and used the stop gesture with his hand. "Babe." He whispered. "If you look real quietly at ten o'clock you'll see something nice."

She turned her head and saw a momma deer and a fawn. The momma deer was eating and the fawn was prancing around her.

It lasted about twenty seconds before the deer noticed them and they ran away.

"That was beautiful," Stephanie said. Then they started waking again.

"Are the safe?" she asked.

"Yes." Ranger assured her. "There is no hunting in a state park."

She nodded her head. Again they walked in silence about 10 minutes until Ranger thought he heard her sniff. He turned around and saw Stephanie wipe tears from her eyes. He walked back to her and put his hands on her shoulders.

"What's wrong?"

"They killed Bambi's mother."

And then she busted out crying. He put her arms mostly around her neck because of her backpack and let her cry it out. He held in his laugh because he knew it would make her angry.

-RSRSRS-

"You're back!" said Sally the hostess. "Three again?"

"No, just me." Tank said and added "If Bridgett is still working, I'd like her as my waitress."

Sally was aware of the amount of food he consumed for breakfast and, she was also impressed with the very generous tip that Bridgett received. "I'm sure we can work that out."

Tank was escorted to his table and Bridgett approached. "Welcome back. Do you need a menu or do you already know what you're getting" She smiled.

"I'm gonna start off with the Chicken Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes and the . . . . ."

Bridgett wrote it all down and went to get his iced tea. Tank grabbed his cell phone and texted Bobby and flat-out-lied! _Accident on the highway, going to be delayed._

 _Well._ He thought to himself _. That can buy me an hour tops._ _  
_  
Bridget came to the table and placed his iced tea and dinner salad in front of him.

"Where are your friends?" She asked.

Tank pushed a button on his cell phone and pulled up his GPS app. "See these two blips? They are about 2 miles from where they will be camping tonight."

-RSRSRS -

"Can I ask you a question?" Asked Stephanie.

"Yes."

"About how long have we walked so far?"

Ranger took out a device that was attached to his waistband. "So far we've gone four miles down the park's trail and three miles on our own. I figure we have about another half an hour before we can stop and set up camp. Okay?"

"I'm really not that hungry. But it would be good to take a break." She paused. "I can't imagine Tank eating for the rest of the day."

"Wanna bet?" Ranger said under his breath.

Fifteen minutes later Stephanie asked "Carlos. Is that water I hear? Bobby told me that to survive in the wilderness you should always find and follow a water source."

"Very good. That means that we are walking in the right direction. We are going to make camp on the other side of the river."

"Wait! I only brought one pair of boots, what will I do when they get wet?"

"Binkie packed us some waders. We will be dry as a bone."

"Um, I think before we cross the river, I should go the bathroom. I might as well get it over with."

"Me too. That's a good idea." He admitted. "Did Binkie or Google tell you how to do it?"

"Trust me Carlos. Everybody told me how to do it."

They continued to walk.

"Can I ask you a question?" Asked Stephanie.

"You know, you don't have to ask permission every time. Just ask away."

"I know it's not winter time yet and I know that the birds fly south, but where do all of the other animals go when it snows?"

"The animal kingdom is amazing and all different species have specialized instincts. Many animals burrow underground, others find caves or fallen logs plus their fur gets very thick in the winter."

"I wonder if Rex has any instincts."

Ranger started to laugh out loud. So loud that the birds made a lot of noise as they flew away.

When they got to the river he said, "Okay here we are. Before we cross the river, you go to the Ladies Room behind those trees and I'll go to the Men's Room over here. Deal?

She took her pack off and went directly to the zippered area where Binkie had told her about everything.

"Here it goes," she said.

She was back in five minutes with a smile on her face. "That wasn't so bad. I mean, I'd rather be in a four star hotel but I can now say that I did it outside!"

"Proud of you Babe."

The Leghigh River wasn't very wide where they were but the current was swift. Ranger told her how to put on her waders and wait. He would go over first carrying his pack to establish a safe path.

Stephanie watched him with awe. Instead of wearing his backpack he lifted it way over his head. She guessed he didn't know how deep the river was going to be.

He made it look so easy as he got to the other side. "Do you want me to come get you?"

"No. I want to do this on my own."

"Okay. Did you watch where I stepped?"

"Yep."

"Leave your backpack, I'll come a get it."

"No. I got it! Remember I've been doing lifting exercises."

And she started Ranger watched as she raised her pack and followed his path almost perfectly.

"You're doing well." "Just take your time!" "Be careful, some of the rocks can be slippery."

"Stop talking! I'm concentrating!" She had managed to get about 60% across when she slipped.

Ranger held his breath as she righted herself before going down in the water. She stood still, got her bearings and successfully made her way to the shore.

"I did it!" And she put her pack down and did a little touchdown dance like a football player.

Ranger grabbed her and picked her up and hugged her. "Way to go Babe!"

"That was fun. Are we going back across? Let's do it again."

"I think I've created a monster." He laughed.

Ranger walked about 100 feet away from the river and saw on open, flat area framed with trees.

He called back. "This is a perfect spot for our camp."

With waders off and back packs down it didn't take them more than 30 minutes to put up the tent, make a fire and grab a sandwich from Ella's pack of food.

Ranger started taking pictures with his camera. He took a picture of the campsite and later Stephanie putting a worm on the hook on her fishing pole. Her facial expression was priceless then and when she actually caught a fish!

Even though she didn't think she was hungry, the smell of the trout being cooked over a flame got her stomach juices flowing. After they cleaned up from dinner they went for a short walk. Ranger wanted his Babe to see the sunset.

They found a large boulder and sat there and watched the sun as it set in the west. It was beautiful.

Once they made it back to the campsite, she stopped him and looked him in the eye and told him honestly, "This has been one of the best days of my life. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome Babe. There is something else I want you to see."

 _Oh boy!_ Stephanie thought to herself.

-RSRSRS-

Author's Note: _Two things. First – As a teacher I know that it is more grammatically correct to say "May I ask you a question?" but I thought for some silly reason that "Can I ask you a question?" seemed more Stephanie Plum. Second – Since I'm on my summer break, I have the time to proof and post . . . so look for a new chapter each day._


	5. Chapter 5

_**Standard Disclaimer: All characters belong to Janet Evanovich**_

 _From Chapter 4_

 _Once they made it back to the campsite, she stopped him and looked him in the eye and told him honestly, "This has been one of the best days of my life. Thank you so much."_

 _"You're welcome Babe. There is something else I want you to see."_

 _Oh boy! Stephanie thought to herself._ _  
_

 **Chapter 5 Under the Stars**

With the sun set, the temperature started to drop quickly. They both unrolled their long sleeves and buttoned them at the wrist as they got back to camp.

Stephanie grabbed a flashlight and took the opportunity to go deal with Mother Nature that she hoped, would get her through the night. By the time she got back Ranger had crawled into the tent and pulled out the sleeping bags. He took the two bags and zipped them into one two-person sleeping bag. Then he retrieved the backpacks and put it all next to the camp fire.

"This looks nice," Stephanie said when she returned.

"There is something else I want you to see." Ranger explained.

They both got into the sleeping bag and Stephanie felt much warmer as his body heat started to do its job.

"I want you to just lay down and look up at the stars. But be prepared." He said.

She put her head on the pillow/backpack and looked up. "Wow! I've never seen so many stars in the sky before. How can? . . . I mean? . . . Where? .. . Why?"

Ranger laughed. "Are you are trying to figure out why you haven't seen this many stars before?"

She nodded her head.

"It's called light pollution. If you live in a major city or a large metropolitan area, the lights from the buildings, street lights, even vehicle lights pollute the sky so you can't actually see all of stars that are up there."

"Wow!"

He continued. "Here in the open area where there are few lights, you don't have to worry about light pollution."

"Wow!" She repeated.

"Yeah. I agree. Wow!"

They both just laid their enjoying the night sky.

"Can I ask you a question?" Asked Stephanie.

He laughed a little before he said, "Yes."

"Do you know how to find your way using the stars like the people in ancient times?"

"Honestly, no." He took her left hand in his right hand and pulled them out of the sleeping bag. Then he took her index finger and pretended it was a rifle scope and pointed it to one bright star.

"That star, the bright one, can you see it?"

"Yes."

"That is called Polaris or the North Star. Early sailors used it to find their way at night. And that is" he moved her finger to see where he was pointing, is call the . . ."

"Big Dipper. I know that."

"Very good."

Ranger turned his head to his right and just looked at his Babe. She looked so genuinely awe struck.

Minutes passed in silence.

"Can I ask you a question?" Asked Stephanie.

"Sure."

"I don't want you to think I'm stupid but see if you can answer this."

"I'll try." Ranger was intrigued.

"Right now we are in Pennsylvania and were looking at the night sky? But on the opposite side of the earth it's daytime. Right?"

"Yes."

"So when the earth rotates around for the next 12 hours and Pennsylvania is in the light and the opposite place is in the dark, are they seeing the same stars that we are seeing now?"

Ranger thought for a minute. "It's possible."

"So," she continued, "how do we know if there are other stars out there other than these?"

"That's a very interesting point. I'm not an expert on the solar system, but I think that throughout the year, the planet shifts on its axis and whether or not we see different stars, other parts of the earth see them. That and I think that they have massive telescopes that can see the stars even in the daytime."

"Oh. Okay. Thanks."

They just held hands and looked up at the sky. Every now and then he would glance at her. _Tank was right. She is beautiful._ _  
_  
"Is that a shooting star? She asked getting very excited."

Ranger saw what she was talking about.

"No that's not a shooting star. That, my dear is a satellite."

"Is it a good satellite or a bad satellite?"

"Don't know."

"What it's doing?"

"Well," he explained, "it could a telecommunications satellite, or a GPS satellite or it could just taking pictures."

"Seriously?"

"Yes?"

"I don't know if I like that. I'm in the middle of nowhere and someone up there is taking my picture."

"It's part of the 21st century Babe. Almost every country with the technology has a satellite up there looking down on others."

They watched the satellite for a while and listened to the crickets.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Yep."

"Do you ever get angry?"

He didn't expect that so he turned his head a looked at her. "About what?"

"Think about it. When you consider all of this, the stars, the earth, us. When you think about it we are just as small as two pieces of sand. And sometimes . . . I get angry when other people think they can change the world."

She sighed. "It makes me angry that one person or a small group of people think that they alone can change the world. These terrorist groups, who think if they blow up a town, or set off a bomb at a concert or synagogue that they are going to change the world. Don't they realize that they themselves are just a grain of sand and that they are not going to make a hill-of-beans difference in the long run?" She seemed more sad than angry.

He had never heard her talk so passionately about this before. He wanted to respond correctly. "Yes. I do get angry. But Babe, until the world rids itself of these people, the human race, as we know it will never find peace."

He rolled over to kiss her on the cheek before he continued to look up.

"Can I ask you a question?"

He smiled. "Absolutely."

"I don't know much about the missions that you are sent on and I know you can't tell me anything specific but, when you are sent away, are you on the job 24 hours a day, or do you every get the opportunity to . . . I don't know, go out a restaurant or . . ." She seemed exasperated, "I don't really know what I want to ask you?"

"You're right, I can't tell you specifics, but I think I understand your question." Both of them were still looking at the stars. "Usually we are with each other all the time. If we do have down time, we usually sleep. On the very long missions, the location and security setup will determine whether or not we can leave the base camp. Did I answer your question?"

"Yes thanks. But, okay, here's another one. When I watch the news they always show bombed out buildings with piles of cement or starving people or really old cars and . . . I know you're gonna think I'm crazy but, sometimes when you're away, do you ever get to see something, I don't know, nice? Or is it always like what we see on TV?

He paused. He was so impressed with her right now. "First off, let me tell you that the news people only show you what they think will get them better ratings. Sometimes if that same camera turned 180 degrees away from the bombed building you would see shops, restaurants, cars, modern street signs, traffic signals and just about everything we have here."

He held her hand again. "But to answer your question there are not a lot of pretty things on the missions I've been sent to."

"I'm sorry," she said almost as an apologetically.

"Wait." He remembered something. "One time we were on a mission in a South American country, and no, I can't tell you what country, and we were cutting through a very dense rain forest when we happened on a clearing and we saw this amazing waterfall! It wasn't a very large waterfall, probably about 20 ft. The trees, the bushes and flowers and the animals that were drinking there were beautiful. And . . . can I tell you a secret? We took off our boots and let our feet dangle in the cool water for about five minutes. Please don't tell anyone."

She laughed. "I won't tell a soul."

For a while they enjoyed listening to the crickets as they looked at the stars.

"Carlos, can you do me a favor?"

"Yes, if I can."

"The next time you get called away would you do something for me?"

"What?"

"When it gets dark, wherever you are, will you look up at the sky? You see, every night that you are gone, I'll look up at the sky too and think of you. It doesn't matter if we are on opposite ends of the planet. When it gets dark, look up and think of me because I'll be doing the same."

"I would like nothing more than to look up and think of you." He said.

Silence.

Then he thought, "Don't you think it would be better if we picked a specific star to look at?"

"Good idea." She agreed.

Again he grabbed her index finger and pointed it to the Big Dipper. "See that one star in the bottom right corner of the Big Dipper. See it?"

"Yes."

"That will be our star. Deal?"

 _Stephanie silently wished that he would never be sent away on another mission._ "Deal."

Time passed. Ranger broke the silence. "Are you ready to go back to the tent?"

"Do we have to? Can't we just sleep under the stars?"

"I think that's a great idea."

Stephanie yawned. "What time is it?"

Ranger looked at his watch. "A little after 8:00."

"I'm starting to fall asleep. Is that okay?"

"No problem."

Stephanie turned and laid on her right side and Ranger did the same so that his front was at her back.

"Thank you." She said quietly.

"For what?"

"For being you."

Ranger hugged her close to him and thought to himself that that was nicest thing anybody has ever said to him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Standard Disclaimer: All characters belong to Janet Evanovich**

 _From Chapter 5:_

 _Stephanie turned and laid on her right side and Ranger did the same so that his front was at her back._

 _"Thank you." She said quietly._

 _"For what?"_

 _"For being you."_

 _Ranger hugged her close to him and thought to himself that that was nicest thing anybody has ever said to him._

 ****

 **Chapter 6: Damn I'm Good!**

It took Ranger a long time to fall asleep. He kept thinking about what she had said. She thanked him for being who he was. As soon as she said it, he felt something strange. Was this feeling a warning? If it was, was it controllable? Did he want to control it? He had more internal questions then he had answers.

After he was sure that she was sound asleep and safe. He got out of the sleeping bag, stoked the fire some more, went to the bathroom and then carefully got back inside the sleeping bag. It took him a while, but he eventually fell asleep.

-RSRSRS-

Dawn came and she stood, stretched, brushed her hair with just her fingers and then went to the bathroom.

The smell of coffee and grilled fish made her hurry back.

"You went fishing without me?" She asked.

"It didn't take me long. Coffee's ready."

"I know. It smells wonderful."

While she sweetened her coffee with a couple of pink packs, he took the last of the rolls out of Ella's goodie bag, cut them in half and placed them on the grill. Then he took a plate, put the roll down first and then the crispy-grilled fish.

"Pretend its biscuits and bacon." He said as he handed her the plate.

"No problem. Now I understand what Ella said."

"Which was what?"

"She said that she loved camping out because Luis does all the cooking." Then she took a bite of the bread and fish and said with her mouth full, "Dis iz delishush!"

After breakfast, they started packing everything back into the two backpacks. Ranger taught her how to completely extinguish a fire. Stephanie did it twice. She wanted to make sure it was out. She didn't want Smokey the Bear upset with her.

Before they put on the backpacks, Ranger took out two black extension poles.

"I wondered what those were for." She asked.

"These are walking sticks. They are to help keep us balanced as we hike uphill. Just wait, you'll see what I mean."

They took a picture of themselves as they left their first campsite.

Ranger took the lead again and it wasn't long before he heard . . .

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Go for it."

"Doesn't the army have those songs that you sing while running?"

"You mean cadence songs?"

"Yeah, I guess that's what I mean."

"But we're not running."

"I know but teach me one. Please."

"Okay, let me think of a clean one."

"Aww, it doesn't have to be clean. Come on, teach me a good one."

"Okay are you ready?" He asked.

"Ready!"

"Repeat after me."

Then . . . it was amazing. His voice started to grumble and it was like another man was walking in front of her. She got goose bumps! His voice became loud. His voice became serious and his voice made her proud!

"R is for ranger rough and tough" – Ranger

"R is for ranger rough and tough" – Babe

"A is for all the way" – Ranger

"A is for all the way" – Babe

"N is for never quit" – Ranger

"N is for never quit" – Babe

"G is for gunh-ho" – Ranger

"G is for gunh-ho" – Babe

"E is for excellence" – Ranger

"E is for excellence" – Babe

"R is for Ranger!" – Ranger

"R is for Ranger!" - Babe

"You see." he admitted laughing back in his regular voice, "It would be much better if we were actually running."

"Wow! That was great!"

They continued to walk and Stephanie, who now couldn't get the cadence rhythm out of her head hummed it constantly. She really appreciated her walking stick as she had to balance herself and her backpack while walking uphill.

Ranger sensed that she was struggling a bit so the next thing that he saw that they could rest on he stopped. They came across a large boulder. _Perfect._

"Let's take a break." He said as he helped her off with her backpack. Then he removed his. He grabbed some water bottles and gave her an energy bar.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead Babe."

"Can we do this same trip next year, but can we bring Julie too? I don't want her having the same sheltered life that I had."

"I hate to break this to you, but Julie is a Girl Scout. She's been on many camp outs."

"But not here right? Don't you think that would be fun?"

"I think it will be great. Let's plan on it."

More photos were taken. While Ranger bent down and was restringing his left boot lace, he saw his Babe intently looking at a beautiful caterpillar as it made its way on the ground. Everything seemed interesting to her. He took a candid picture of this. He thought about the future of that caterpillar and thought to himself a perfect caption for this photograph. _Soon they will both be able to fly._ _  
_  
Stephanie gave a piece of the hard candy that she bought from Cracker Barrel to Ranger and she popped one in her mouth as well. They resumed walking.

About thirty minutes later believe it or not she said, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Okay."

"How come you never talk about your military awards? Binkie described you as a legend as far as Rangers go. He also said that the recruits have to study the successes of your missions. And he said that you have received more medals and honors that anyone he knows. You've never told me any of that."

Ranger didn't miss a beat. He kept on walking, leading the way.

Stephanie became concerned because he didn't respond to her. He just kept walking. After a couple of minutes of silence she said, "I'm sorry if I said something wrong. I didn't mean to upset you."

He stopped and turned around.

"I'm not upset with you Babe." He walked back to her and put his hands on her shoulders and massaged them just a little.

"I was always just doing my job. I never liked all of the ribbons and medals. My goal for every mission is to complete the assignment and bring my troops home alive. That's it. Period. The citations mean nothing to me. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

He took this time to give her a very passionate kiss. Once they both recovered from that, they started walking again.

About a minute later she said. "You do have a problem though."

"What's that?"

"Binkie idolizes you!"

-RSRSRS-

Tank and Bobby both arrived and dropped off the food, bags and SUV. They turned on the ceiling fans in each if the rooms to circulate the air. Even though Rangeman has a company to maintain the property, the house still felt a little stuffy.

They left the keys to the vehicle on the kitchen table next to Stephanie's purse.

Then they locked up and left.

-RSRSTS-

"How much longer?" Stephanie asked.

"According to my calculations, we should be hitting Lake Harmony in about a mile. Why?"

"Where are we camping tonight?"

"By the lake."

"Okay."

It was a good thing that he was in front of her so she couldn't see the shit-eating-grin on his face.

Fifteen minutes later they were walking along the lake shore when they came upon the backyard of a cabin.

"Hey, this looks interesting. Wanna go look inside?"

"What? No. That's someone's house." She said quickly.

"True, but they probably only use it in the summertime. I bet we can get in there and use the bathroom at least. What do you say?"

"No Ranger, that's called breaking and entering!"

"Oh, I see you went back to Ranger."

She rapidly shook her head up and down and she seriously empathized his name. "Yeah, well _Ranger_ , I want you to think about what you are suggesting. _Ranger_ , you own a security firm and here you are, _Ranger_ , talking about breaking into someone's house! I think you have lost your mind!"

"Okay. Stay here if you are afraid. I'm just going to check it out. Be my lookout."

Stephanie remained about 50 feet from the back of the house. Although she hid behind a cluster of bushes she could see him approaching the house."

He looked at the back door and screamed back to her, "It has a security system but I know I can break in!"

 _Shit! Why is he screaming? He has lost his mind._ She thought.

He disappeared from her sight as he went around to the front of the house. She became nervous. All of a sudden the back door opened and there he stood, in someone else's house!

"I got in. Piece of cake."

"Are you crazy? Get out of that house! Please, please don't do this." She begged him.

"Okay, but first I'm going to use the bathroom. Maybe I'll take a shower." Again he was screaming.

 _Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God._ She thought as she sat down on the ground hugging her backpack like it was a security blanket.

 _He's going to set off the alarm and the police are going to come and arrest him. His reputation will be ruined._

Stephanie remained hidden in the bushes. After about fifteen long minutes, she started to hum the cadence song as she rocked back and forth.

 _What was taking him so long?_

 _He's gonna get caught!_

She started to panic and her humming got louder and louder.

 _What would she tell Tank?_

 _Oh my goodness . . . , Binkie will be devastated._

She was so involved with her own thoughts that she didn't hear him approach. She was startled.

"Always be aware of your surroundings Babe." He said as he bent down and handed her a glass of white wine.

Stephanie was confused. The glass of wine was nice but the smell of Bulgari was palpable. He smelled good, his hair was wet and he had on different clothes.

"What the hell?" She asked as she got up and punched him on the shoulder.

"Oww. That was uncalled for. Here I am offering you a nice glass of Chardonnay and you hit me. I'm hurt." He feigned like he was wounded.

She was still unsure of what the hell was going on. He calmly approached her, took back the glass of wine just to be safe, put his arm around her and turned her to face the house.

"Babe. I own this cabin. It's one of Rangeman's safe houses. And, if you kiss me, I'll let you enjoy the bathroom with the Jacuzzi tub before, and after I make mad passionate love to you. Deal?"

She didn't say anything. She kissed him hard on the lips and skipped to the back door. Skipping and screaming "Yippee!" the whole way.

Ranger raised the glass of wine and toasted himself. "Damn, I'm good!"

-RSRSRS-

Author's Notes: I live in Louisiana and I have to rely on the internet for info. According to the Hickory Run State Park website, for some reason that area of Pennsylvania is chock full of boulders. That's why Ranger and Stephanie always found some place to sit down.

The Ranger Cadence Song also came from the internet.

And I don't know in what book, but I believe I read in one that Ranger had a safe house somewhere that overlooked a lake.


	7. Chapter 7

**Standard Disclaimer: All characters belong to Janet Evanovich**

 _From Chapter 6_

" _Babe. I own this cabin. It's one of Rangeman's safe houses. And, if you kiss me, I'll let you enjoy the bathroom with the Jacuzzi tub before, and after I make mad passionate love to you. Deal?"_

 _She didn't say anything. She kissed him hard and skipped to the back door. Skipping and screaming "Yippee!" the whole way._

 _Ranger raised the glass of wine and toasted himself. "Damn, I'm good!"_

 **Chapter 7 The Trip to Newark**

 _ **Authors Note: I'm relying on Google for the Spanish translations.**_

Stephanie enjoyed her return to plumbing. She told Ranger that if he indeed wanted to make mad, passionate love to her, he would just have to wait until she bathed, shaved and lavished in the products that Ella had placed in the overnight bag just for her.

Ranger knew that that undertaking would be at least 30 to 45 minutes, so he took the opportunity to make a phone call. Being so far from a cell phone tower he knew that he would have to use the SAT phone.

"Hola."

"Hola papá. Soy yo, Carlos. Necesito hablar contigo. ¿Tienes un minuto?" _(_ _Hello Papa. It's me, Carlos. I need to talk to you. Do you have a minute?)_ _  
_  
Ranger's father always had time for his children, but he couldn't remember a time when Carlos wanted to talk to him.

"Sí, ¿hay algo mal?" _(_ _Yes, is anything wrong?)_

Being the father of a military son, and now a son who has a dangerous occupation, he was apprehensive about what his son was going to talk about.

Ranger's mother walked into the room as her husband was on the phone and mouthed, "Quién es" _(Who is it?)_ _  
_  
"Carlos," he mouthed back. She was also surprised that Carlos had called. She was so intrigued that she sat down quietly in the room and listened to the one sided conversation.

"Necesito pedir tu consejo," Ranger said. _(I need to ask your advice?)_

-RSRSRS-

Her husband just sat there after they disconnected with a proud expression on his face.

¿Quieres decirme de qué se trata? ¿El está bien? _(Do you want to tell me what that was about? Is he okay?)_ Carlos' mother asked

He gestured to her to join him on his chair and when she got close to him, he patted his lap. She sat down and he passionately hugged and kissed his wife. With all of the children out of the house for years, Carlos' parents enjoyed the freedom to display their love for each other.

"Entonces, ¿por qué nuestro hijo te llamó?" _(_ _So, why did our son call you?)_ _  
_  
"Finalmente sucedió. Nuestro hijo ha encontrado a su alma gemela. Carlos está enamorado." _(It's finally happened. Our son has found his soulmate. Carlos is in love.)_

-RSRSRS-

While Ranger grilled some vegetables and a couple of steaks on the back deck, Stephanie filled up a large bag with pine cones. They ate outside and then gazed up at the stars.

The next morning, after a breakfast of fruit, pancakes and coffee, Ranger and Stephanie loaded up the SUV and headed back to reality.

As he backed out of the driveway and turned to head home Ranger said. "Babe, it is okay with you if we stop by my parents' house. We have to go through Newark anyway, and I haven't seen them in a while?"

He expected a panicked reply but what she said made him smile. "Sure, it will be nice to see them again. I haven't really seen them since Julie's kidnapping. How are they?"

Ranger replied with what he knew about them and the recent happenings of his siblings and the multiple grandchildren.

Once on the interstate Stephanie played with the radio and found an All 80's station and they sang along with their oldies. At one point Stephanie was gyrating so physically with Princes' "Let's Go Crazy" that the people in the car next to them started to laugh as Ranger passed them in the left lane.

It had been a long time since Ranger really enjoyed driving! Usually, even in his 911, he gets in his zone and manages to get from point A to point B. Today he was singing, talking and laughing with his Babe and before he knew it, he had to put the blinker on because the next exit was the one he needed to get to his former home.

About 2 blocks away she asked, "Do I look okay?"

"You look beautiful."

"Hey, do they know we're coming or are we just going to surprise them?"

"My father knows. I don't know about my mother."

"Maybe we should take them out to lunch?" Stephanie suggested.

"And break my mother's heart. I'm sure she will fix us a sandwich or something."

They parked and walked up to the front door. Ranger knocked and his father opened the door.

"Good afternoon! It is so good to see you!" and then he hugged Stephanie first and then Ranger.

"We hope we're not intruding?" Stephanie said.

"No not at all. Please come into the kitchen, Carlos' mother is making lunch."

This was the first time that Stephanie had been in that house and while it looked like the same floor plan as her parents' house, there was something different. She couldn't put her finger on it yet but there was something extra.

The minute they walked into the kitchen Carlos' mother ignored Ranger, just as his father did, and acknowledged Stephanie first.

"It is so good to see you again my dear. Welcome to our home." Then she hugged her son. "It's been too long. Please, let's sit, I have some sandwiches and potato salad."

Ranger and Stephanie sat down and watched as his mother and father brought everything to the kitchen table. They never got in each other's way, they continued to talk and when they were finished putting the food, condiments and drinks on the table, Carlos father pulled out his wife's chair.

"So how was your first camping trip my dear?" Asked Carlos mother.

Stephanie started the story beginning at Cracker Barrel and Tank's ability to eat, to the trick that their son had played on her at the cabin. At one point she sent Ranger to the car to get the camera so they could see the pictures.

The food was delicious, the tea was very sweet and the conversation was delightful.

"Carlos, can I get you to look at something in the garage that I'm having trouble with? I just can't seem to figure something out?" His father asked.

"Sure," Ranger said. They both got up, kissed their women, and walked out of the kitchen door and into the backyard.

Stephanie said as she started to gather the plates. "You know this house is basically the same as the house I grew up in." They both continued to have a pleasant conversation as they cleaned up after lunch.

Outside in the shed, Carlos' father gestured to a couple of chairs and they both sat down.

"¿Puedo hacerte una pregunta?" _(Can I ask you a question?)_ Ranger laughed as he said it. How many times had he heard that in the past two days?

¿Cómo sabías que mamá era la mujer con la que querías pasar el resto de tu vida?" _(How did you know that mom was the woman you wanted to spend the rest of your life with?)_ _  
_  
"Es sencillo. Cada vez que estamos separados, me siento incompleto. Y siento que eso fue hasta que estamos juntos de nuevo _."_ _(It's simple. Whenever we are apart, I feel incomplete. And I feel that way until we are together again.)_ _  
_  
Ranger just sat there and nodded as his father espoused his wisdom about love. Eventually, they returned to the house to find the women in the den watching the final segment of a _Judge Judy_ episode. Come to find out, both Stephanie and Carlos' mom loved that show.

He whispered to his son. "I know better than to interrupt when _Judge Judy_ is on. Other women watch soap operas. Not your mother. She's hooked on Judy Sheindlin. Your mother never misses a show."

After they both used the facilities, Carlos and Stephanie kissed them goodbye and walked to the car.

Waving from the front porch Carlos' mother asked. "¿Va a hacer algo al respecto esta vez?" _(Is he going to do something about it this time?)_ _  
_  
"Eso espero." _(I hope so.)_

As they started driving, Stephanie waved to Carlos' parents who were arm in arm on their porch.

She now knew what that one difference between the home she grew up in and here. _This home has love within it._

-RSRSRS-

The trip home would have been the perfect time to move things forward with their relationship. She would have been a captive audience just sitting there in the passenger seat. Once they got back on the interstate Ranger could have done it. Confessed his undying love and devotion like his father told him to do. But, she fell asleep.

 _I'll talk to her later_. He promised himself.

Five minutes from Haywood, he pushed a button and called Tank.

"ETA?" asked Tank.

"Five minutes." Ranger nudged Stephanie on the leg. "Babe, we're pulling in, you might want to wake up."

She yawned and stretched, ""How could you let me sleep the whole way?"

"You looked so comfortable."

"I think your mom put something in the potato salad." She joked.

When they pulled into the garage they were both surprised to see Tank and about four Rangemen waiting for their arrival.

The car barely stopped before Stephanie jumped out and cheered, "I did it. I went camping and I loved it." She then took a huge theatrical bow!

Those in attendance applauded and gave her high fives. Then the men moved from where they were and Stephanie was speechless.

"Oh my god. Is that my car? Oh my God . . Oh my God . . . she kept saying that as she walked around her beautifully washed, waxed, and detailed usually POS vehicle. "It looks great. Hey, and you got the dent out. How did you do that?"

The guys gathered around her and told her about what each one did. Oil change, tune up. Interior cleanup. She sat in the driver's seat and just smelled the clean.

"I don't think this car has ever smelled this good. Thanks guys, this is the best thing."

In the meantime, Tank was helping Ranger gather all of the stuff from the back of the SUV.

"So how did it go?" Tank asked.

"Surprising well." Ranger said. "Do you have a report for me?"

"We've been working on the Peerless Aviation bid but nothing earth shattering has happened over the past two days."

"Thanks guys." Stephanie repeated. "You're the best. How's Rex?"

"Fine," Cal said. "We brought him down and put his cage by the monitors. The squeaky wheel helps stay awake and focus on the monitors."

"You see, I'm gone for three days and their goofing off. Nobody better be slacking on monitor duty," said Ranger as seriously as he could. Actually, he was happy that his men helped his Babe.

"No sir." They all said.

Stephanie asked Woody if she would help her carry Ranger's backpack to the storage room on two. "It's my job to clean and put everything back. Let's go."

"Babe, you don't have to do that now."

"But I want to do it and prove that I can do it. _Please_. Besides I'm sure you want to get up to your office and check on everything you missed."

"Alright. Meeting in my office in five."

Once Woody got the backpacks to the storage room, Stephanie painstakingly cleaned and put everything back where it was supposed to go. _Including the MREs that she never opened._ It took her 30 minutes, but she did it. She didn't have the key to return Ranger's backpack to his caged area so she just left it outside of his locked gate.

She went to seven, gathered her clothes from a few days ago and then went to five. She was going to say goodbye to Ranger but when she got there he and the core team were in the conference room in what looked like a serious meeting.

She went by the monitors and told thanked the guys for taking care of Rex and she grabbed the cage and got in the elevator.

She was so excited to drive her car. It was so nice of the guys to make it presentable again. She put Rex's cage on the ground and started to open the passenger car door when she heard the stairwell door slam open. It startled her.

"Are you leaving without saying goodbye?" It was Ranger and he was a little out of breath.

"I'm just loading up right now. I would never leave without giving you a proper goodbye." She reached up and gave him a very nice kiss and a compassionate hug. She knew that he didn't like to share his life with his men on the monitors.

"Don't you think it was so nice of the guys to fix up my car? Seriously it looks great." She walked around the whole car are she said it.

"You're very special to them." Ranger said.

"Babe." _(pause)_ "Stephanie, can you come over here." Ranger said asking her to come to the front of her car. He knew that was where the monitors would be least able to see what he was going to do next.

"Sure."

She leaned against the hood of her car and Ranger started pacing in front of her.

"Are you okay? Nothing bad happened while we were gone right?"

Ranger chuckled but didn't respond. He put his hands in his front jeans pockets.

"Well? Is everything okay?" She asked again.

Still he silently paced.

"Carlos you're starting to scare me. What's going on? Please tell me what's going on."

And then he started to speak.

"When I was growing up, I was always embarrassed by my parents because they were always hugging and kissing in public."

"That was a problem I never had so I can't relate to that." She said laughingly.

"Please let me finish." Ranger was so serious. "There were sometimes when my father worked two or three jobs to make ends meet. We always had food on the table and we all knew that we were loved. I've always been amazed about their genuine compassion for each other." He added, "Oh, don't get me wrong, they had some epic Cuban fights, but they never go to bed angry."

Stephanie remained quiet, but she could tell that this was hard for him to say.

"Just a minute ago when Hal called to tell me that you had picked up Rex and got in the elevator, I had a pain in my chest."

Stephanie started to get up.

"Wait. Let me explain." She sat back down.

"When you were enjoying your bath last night, I called my father about these feeling that I was having in my chest."

Ranger looked up and made eye contact with her. "He asked me to tell him how I was feeling, and then he told me that I was experiencing something that many men never get the opportunity to feel."

"What?" She asked.

"He called it amor eterno. It comes when a man and a woman love each other so much that it physically hurts when they are separated."

"Amor eterno. In English it translates to 'everlasting love' and I know I sounds like a song from the 70s but when I thought you were leaving that feeling in my chest returned."

At this point, Ranger didn't care who was watching and what they could see. He grabbed her hands in his. "I know that if you get in your car and drive away from me, I won't be able to sleep without you next to me. I won't be able to function. _(pause)_ I know I'm being incredibly selfish right now but, I'm asking you to stay."

He pulled her up and kissed her so tenderly. "Please stay with me. Eres mi amor eterno." _(You are my everlasting love.)_

She had never seen him more vulnerable.

She smiled hugged him around the neck. "Can Rex stay too?"

He said "Yes!" and picked her up and swirled her and screamed "Yippee" and it didn't matter who heard and who was watching.

They took everything back out of the car, he grabbed Rex's cage, got in the elevator and pushed seven.

It was the official start of their everlasting love.

-RSRSRS-

"It's about damn time!" Tank said out loud as he and many Rangemen looked at the garage monitors.

They all high-fived!


	8. Chapter 8

**Standard Disclaimer: All characters belong to Janet Evanovich**

 _From Chapter Seven_

 _He pulled her up and kissed her so tenderly. "Please stay with me._ _Eres mi amor eterno." (You are my everlasting love.)_

 _She had never seen him more vulnerable._

 _She smiled hugged him around the neck. "Can Rex stay too?"_

 _He said "Yes!" and picked her up and swirled her and screamed "Yippee" and it didn't matter who heard and who was watching._

 _They took everything back out of the car, he grabbed Rex's cage, got in the elevator and pushed seven._

 _It was the official start of their everlasting love._

 **Chapter 8: Lula's Gift**

 _ **Authors Note: I'm relying on Google for the Spanish translations.**_

Their amor eterno lasted about 14 muscle bending, sweating hours. The physical love making in and around every square foot in the apartment was fabulous and exhausting. They would eventually come up for air, food, and water.

During one of their breaks sitting around the table Stephanie admitted that she always wanted to help her father by sub-leasing her apartment to her grandmother. She was sure that it would be a big gift to them both. And since they didn't want to keep anything a secret, Ranger and Stephanie went to the Plum's house for dinner that night and dropped the good news to Frank, Edna and Helen.

Then they called Carlos' parents. They were thrilled. Both of the sets of parents were accepting of their relationship but the mothers wanted more. They wanted a wedding. Especially Helen Plum. Ranger and Stephanie stopped her there. She did not like it but she agreed not to push them further. _At this time._

Ranger and Stephanie gathered her cookie jar and all of her non-furniture items from her apartment and, she simply moved into Ranger's place. She took up half the bathroom counter and half the closet. She framed some of the photos from the camp out and placed them around.

For the first two weeks things were fine. She went to work at the bonds office and Ranger went to work on five. With their non-traditional jobs, arranging lunches and dinners was a challenge. But when they could, they would meet at a restaurant or whip up something at home. Regardless, they always waited until the other one was in the building before they went to sleep.

Everything seemed fine until the first day of October.

Tank knocked on Ranger's office door. "Enter!"

He walked in and handed Ranger a check. "Thought you'd like to see this."

Ranger looked at the check. It was a check for $600.00, written to Rangeman Securities and it was signed by Stephanie Plum.

Ranger grabbed his phone and pressed a number.

"Yo?" She answered. Stephanie kinda knew that she would be getting this call today. She hoped that she could make him understand.

"Yo yourself. Tank has just shown me a check that you wrote out to Rangeman. Want to tell me why?"

"It's for rent."

"Excuse me?"

"Rent. I asked some of the guys who have an apartment on four what they paid for rent and they said that their rent comes out of their paycheck automatically, and because I don't really work for you full time, I thought I'd would just write you a check to cover this month's rent. Okay?"

Ranger was very, very quiet. "Where are you now?"

"I'm at the police station. Just dropped off a regular, why?"

"Meet me at Pino's in fifteen. Please."

"Okay. See you then."

Ranger tried to control his anger as he drove. Things were getting strained with the women in his world. Ella stopped by his office yesterday to let him know that Stephanie wanted to do their laundry now and asked Ella where the washing machines were. Ella added that Stephanie said she would start cleaning the apartment on seven herself as well. Ella was upset.

When he got to Pino's Stephanie was already in their spot. As he got to the table, she stood up and kissed him.

"Are you having a good morning?" He asked quietly.

"Pretty much okay. Just the regular bunch. I didn't know what you wanted but I already ordered."

The waitress came by and took Ranger's order. Salad. _No surprise._

"Babe?"

Stephanie really did not want to have a knock down drag out fight in public so she took the lead.

"Carlos, I know what this conversation in going to be about but you have to let me explain. Please."

He nodded and let her speak.

"I am a woman in my thirties, and for the most part of my adult life I've paid rent. Sometimes my rent check was late but I paid it. It makes me feel like I'm contributing to something. Everyone should feel like they are a part of something, right? Please, please don't sit there and tell me that I cannot be a part of something wonderful like Rangeman."

She thought that she did a good job explaining her position. She should have. She practiced it over and over in her head ever since she wrote the check. As he was about to speak the food was delivered. She started eating.

"Babe. Thank you for your reasonable explanation. I can now understand your need to be a part of the company. May I make a suggestion?"

"Sure." She said as she ate a fry.

"Tank is constantly buried in paperwork. What if you work two or three days a week at Rangeman helping him with the day-to-day operations and maybe some searches. That way, you'll get a regular paycheck and your "contribution," if that's what you want to call it, will be taken out automatically like the men's rent? Okay?"

"That's reasonable. Thank you for understanding." She reached over and kissed him. "Can we come up with an employment contract? Because up until now I've just been paid for each item. Distractions you know?"

"Yes, we can work on that tonight over dinner."

"Sounds good."

And they did. They started at the kitchen table talking about wages and insurance. Obviously Ranger wanted her salary to adequately support her "rent." Later they continued their discussion in the bathtub. When they were satisfied with the terms, and the water was cold, they kissed to seal the deal.

Dry or wet, it seemed that that Ranger was an excellent negotiator.

-RSRSRS- **  
**

Years ago, if anyone who have said that he would be working in an office instead of out in the field Ranger would have called them crazy. But today was one of those days. Client interviews and contracts needed to be done and even though he rarely left his desk, he was worn out. At 1900 he decided that he was done for the day.

As he opened the door on seven he said, "Babe?" There was no answer as he repeated it throughout the apartment. He took out his phone and texted her. When he heard her phone, which was in her purse hanging on the back of the bar stool, he knew that he would need extra help.

He pushed a button. "Stephanie's location?"

Woody who was working monitors answered, "Last seen on two in the storage room. Sir."

Ranger put his arms above his head and did some stretching. Then he grabbed two beers and walked down the stairs to find her. When he opened the stairwell door he immediately heard music. Loud music. Following the noise he looked into the storage room and found his Babe intently painting pine cones.

"What are you working on?" He asked inquisitively.

She turned off the radio. "I'm making Lula's birthday present."

He smiled as he looked around her work area and he couldn't help but think that Lula is not going to appreciate the effort that his Babe was putting into . . . _whatever it was_ she was creating.

"So what do you have here?" He asked as he handed her a beer and looked at three, large, fully-opened pine cones, with each piece painted a different neon color.

"Well these two," she pointed to the biggest ones, "are ring holders. See? You know that she has umpteen rings. Right. Well look, they are nature's own ring holders."

"Cute." Ranger rarely described anything as "cute."

"And this one," she continued, also painted with different neon colors "is for her earrings. Hector found me a drill with this tiny little bit and showed me how to make holes for the earring studs. Of course it is not for all of her hoop earrings cuz those are just huge!"

He took a sip of his beer. "And those over there in the trash?"

"Practice cones. It took me awhile to get the drill right." She admitted. "It's a good thing I brought so many home for Rex huh?"

She then picked up a very small neon-painted cone. "And, this tiny one is for her Firebird. Hector showed me how to solder a hook for her to hang it from her rear view mirror."

Ranger looked at her work and smiled.

"So what do you think?" She asked him.

"It's interesting."

"Is that a nice way to tell me they are stupid?'

"No, no, I'm not saying that." He said as he put his hands up in a surrender position, "It's just that I don't think she's ever been given pine cones as gifts before."

"I know. That's the best part. I think she'll love them." She smiled as she took a sip of beer. "You know how . . . diversified she is. Anyway, Connie and I are taking her out to lunch tomorrow for her real present. These are just extra."

"It looks like you've created a hobby shop down here."

"Hector said I could use this table as long as I clean my things and put my stuff in this plastic bin when I'm finished. I hope that's okay?"

"Yeah. That's fine." _He really needed to talk to Hector._

"I'm starting to like this room." She said.

"Why?"

"Because it's here."

"Which means what?" He asked.

She got up, took his bottle and placed it on the table and preceded to give him a very passionate kiss.

"Because it's here." _Kiss._ "In the place that I call home." _Kiss._ "Where I have everything a girl could ask for." _Kiss._ "A very nice apartment." _Kiss._ "A fabulous bed." _Kiss._ "Gym." _Kiss._ "Gun range." _Kiss._ "Lots of extremely good looking men." _Kiss._ "A place where I can paint pine cones." _Kiss._ "But most importantly you." _Kiss._

The last kiss lasted a very long time.

"Maybe we should go up to that bed and continue this conversation?" Ranger said.

"Sounds like a great idea. Give me time to finish and clean up down here and then you can clean me up in the shower." _Kiss._ "Another great thing about living here."

"Deal."

-RSRSRS-

Before he returned to seven, Ranger went in search of Hector. At first he looked for him in his workshop but it was locked. Then he walked up to the fourth floor and knocked on his door.

"Hola Héctor, ¿puedo hablar contigo mi amigo?" _(Hello Hector. May I talk to you my friend?)_

"Sí, por supuesto, entra," _(Yes of course come in.)_

It had been awhile since Ranger had seen one of the apartments on four. Basically they were all about the same. Small living areas with a bar that connects to a galley kitchen and, a short hallway to a bedroom and bathroom. Hector's apartment had minimal furniture and very was neat except for a work table over to the right of the sofa. Apparently Hector takes some of his computer repair work home with him.

"¿Hay algo mal jefe?" _(_ _Is anything wrong boss?)_

"No Héctor, nada está mal. Vengo de dos y vi el área de pasatiempos de Stephanie. Está a punto de terminar con los regalos de Lula." _(_ _No Hector, nothing is wrong. I just came from two and saw Stephanie's hobby area. She is just about finished with Lula's presents.)_

". Piñas. Creo que ella está loca ¿Quién demonios va a querer conos de pino pintados?" _(_ _Yeah. Pine cones. I think she's crazy. Who the hell is going to want painted pine cones?)_ _  
_  
"Estoy de acuerdo, pero no pude romper mi corazón Babes. Gracias por ayudarla _." (_ _I agree but I couldn't break my Babe's heart. Thank you for helping her out.)_

"No hay problema." _(_ _No problem.)_

"Necesito pedirte un favor. ¿Qué tan bueno eres en tu trabajo?" _(_ _I need to ask you a favor. Just how good are you at your job?)_

-RSRSRS-

The next day Connie, Stephanie and Lula went to El Ponchos, a Mexican restaurant that Lula has always loved.

Lula also loved Mateo, the waiter. He has always been so nice to her. Mateo loved the "big girls" and he had a table already prepared with Lula's favorite chips, salsa and guacamole, plus a pitcher of margaritas and salted glasses all ready to go.

"Mateo, you sure know how to make a girl feel special." Lula said as she poured her first drink. "To my birthday!"

Connie poured herself a margarita and Stephanie asked Mateo for an iced tea. She was the designated driver and she knew from experience that Lula and Connie were gonna get plastered!

After the first drink, everyone who entered the restaurant was fair game. They were too tall, too short, too fat or too skinny. They had no taste in clothes, worse taste in shoes, they had a stupid laugh, they sneezed funny, their glasses were ugly . . . and so on. They laughed constantly.

The trio basically ordered the entire menu except anything that looked like salad.

Stephanie and Connie wished they had had the smarts to wear yoga pants like the birthday girl. The buttons on their jeans were straining. If Stephanie ate any more beans her button would become a ballistic missile.

"Now you know why I love this place, the food is big and fabulous. Just like me!" Lula said as she attacked her third burrito.

Then as Lula started her second pitcher of margaritas, Stephanie went out to the trunk of her car, took out the gift bag and then put it on the table in front of Lula.

"Happy Birthday!"

"White Girl, you didn't have to get me anything!" Lula said a little slur to her speech. Then she reached in and pulled out the top piece of tissue paper. After that she didn't take anything out. It was just like she couldn't get her addlepated mind to figure out what she was seeing.

"They're for your jewelry!" And as proudly as she could Stephanie pulled out each cone and told her what each one was for. "These are for your rings. See, each ring should fit securely on each of those things. And this one is for your regular earrings, not your hoops. See, I drilled tiny holes in each thing for the posts. And this little thing is just for your car. I figure you can hang it from your rear view mirror. I think it's cute." Stephanie said proudly.

Lula paused for a while. Then she took a swig from her drink. She looked at Stephanie with fuzzy eyes and said, "You made these for me?"

Stephanie nodded.

"With your own hands?"

Stephanie nodded.

"Pine cones?"

For the third time she nodded.

And then Lula started bawling! "No one has ever made me anything like this before. I love them White Girl, you're the best. She got up and pulled Stephanie to her feet and gave her a bear hug that any TV wrestler would be proud of.

Mateo came over with candles already lit and stuck to a flan. Everybody in the restaurant sang "Happy Birthday" to Lula. Then Mateo preceded to take picture after picture of Lula, her friends, the pine cones and . . . anything else.

When they finally paid the bill, it was getting dark outside. Their lunch had lasted a very long time.

Lula and Connie made it to Stephanie's car. She begged her passengers not to throw up. As soon as Stephanie backed out of the restaurant parking lot, both Connie and Lula were fast asleep. _Whew!_

Stephanie unbuttoned her jeans and thought _, I'm going to have to get some more pine cones. Christmas is coming up._ _  
_

-RSRSRS-

 _Author's Note: Eight chapters down . . . eight more to go. The adventure continues._


	9. Chapter 9

**Standard Disclaimer: All characters belong to Janet Evanovich.**

 ****

 **Chapter 9: Stay Alert!**

Researching and planning the bid for the Peerless Aviation job was intense. FAA Regulations, United States Custom Regulations and general security for the very wealthy clients who would be using the private airport would be a massive undertaking. State personnel licenses would not be new to Rangeman because the location of the renovated field would be in Secaucus, NJ, which is just west of the Hudson River, a short limo ride into upper Manhattan.

It was determined by Ranger and Tank that Lester Santos would be the lead speaker at tomorrow morning's presentation to Alan Marshall, Peerless owner. And if Rangeman was awarded the contract, Lester would be the one to oversee the entire operation. Tomorrow's presentation would be at the current working airstrip which was now going through a massive renovation.

The core team was in Conference Room 1 for the fourth night in a row.

"We're done." Ranger said at 0100. "Let's call it a night. I'll get the men downstairs to copy and bind the bid. It will give them something to do while watching the monitors." He stood and stretched, "I'm going upstairs."

"Wish I had a woman like Bomber waiting for me." Lester said.

"Oh! I'm sorry." Bobby said, "Did your inflatable woman spring a leak?"

"Asshole," Lester responded.

Ranger replied, "Trust me, when I get upstairs she is going to already be in bed."

"She'll be waiting for you huh?" Lester said with a wink.

"No, she'll be asleep. Asshole!"

"Well, Tank it's your turn. Aren't you going to call me and Lester assholes?" Bobby asked.

"I don't think it's an insult to call you assholes." Tank said nonchalantly "It's a fact. You two are assholes but I don't have time to debate the truth. I'm sure I have a few starving cats waiting for me to come home and feed them. What is you departure time?"

"I think 0800 will give us enough time to get to Peerless and set up our display. If we leave any earlier, we'll hit traffic." Ranger said.

"Okay, see you back here in few hours" said Tank as he grabbed his cell phone.

-RSRSRS-

Some days Tank wished he lived at Haywood. But he couldn't live without his cats. When he entered his house the cats were all by the door meowing with their tails straight up. First Meow = "Where have you been?" Second Meow = "Do you know you didn't put enough food for all of us today?" Third Meow-Meow _(a two syllable meow)_ = "And our water is old. We need fresh water. And you didn't clean out our litter boxes yesterday. Can you work on that?"

Once he finished his pet parent duties, Tank hit the head, then showered.

Tank enjoyed his showers. He didn't talk that much at work but there was always someone at Rangeman talking his ear off. He loved the relative silence in the shower. He stood under the shower head and just let the water run down and help him de-stress. Then out of nowhere, Tank distinctly heard the two words "Stay Alert!" He opened his eyes and froze as the hot water cascaded over his face. After a second or two he shook his head and assumed that his level of mental exhaustion was taking a toll on his brain.

When he got out of the shower he brushed his teeth, turned off the lights and got into his bed by moving the already sleeping and now pissed-off cats. Within 10 minutes he was sound asleep along with his purring cats who had assumed their normal positions around his large reclined body.

Around 0300 he heard "Stay Alert" again. His eyes popped open! The room was dark, the cats hadn't stirred so there was no one in the room. Tank tried to recognize the voice. He had heard it before. He replayed it in his mind. "Stay Alert!" over and over trying to come up with a face to match the voice. Tank did not get any sleep after that.

-RSRSRS-

When he got up at 0445 Ranger was surprised to see his Babe sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee.

He went up and kissed her. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm okay, it's just that I'm having a bad time, you know?"

Of course Ranger knew that she was on her period, but he became a little concerned because Stephanie wasn't the type of woman who bitched and complained during her "time of the month."

"I've taken some Midol for the cramps and it's helped," she added.

"I'm glad. I'm going down to the gym. Promise me that if it gets worse that you'll go to the doctor." He instructed.

 _The doctor? Men, they just don't have a clue. If all women went to their doctors every time they had cramps . . ._ but she went along with him just so he wouldn't worry. "I promise. Have a good workout."

-RSRSRS-

Now dressed in her Rangeman uniform Stephanie went to garage as Ranger, Bobby and Lester were getting ready to leave for their meeting. "Good luck!" she said adding, "Although I know you're not going to need it. Peerless would be stupid for not accepting your bid." She then kissed all three. Bobby and Lester on the forehead and Ranger on the mouth.

"I like the way you send us off Beautiful." Lester said. "Can't wait for the welcome home kiss!"

"Santos!"

"Yeah, yeah I get it! Shot Gun!" He said as he ran to the passenger side of the SUV.

"Geeze. It's going to be a long day!" Bobby said as he got into the backseat.

"Take it easy today okay," Ranger advised his Babe as he got into the driver's seat and started the vehicle.

"I will. See you when you get back." She backed up and waved as they drove out of the garage. Stephanie went up to her desk on five and started work. It was Tuesday and now she officially worked at Rangeman on Tuesday and Thursday. Her goal today was to compute the work hours and complete the payroll. Then she knew she'd have some searches to complete.

Before she knew it, it was 10:00 and she needed to do two things. First, she needed to get a bottle of water and a snack and second, she needed to take more medicine. She opened the desk drawer and put a couple of Midol in her pocket. No sense advertising to the guys. As she stood up from her desk she was hit with another severe cramp. Damn.

She entered the break room and she saw Cal and a couple of others gathered around the table. She said hello and went to the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water.

Even though Tank was working just a few doors down, the men always seemed at little more at ease when Ranger was out of the building. Apparently they were just at the punchline of a joke and were laughing uncontrollably. As Stephanie pulled the pills out of her pocket and popped them in her mouth she had another severe cramp. So painful that after she swallowed the pills she dropped the water bottle. "Shit!" she said.

"Bomber, you okay." Asked Cal.

"Yeah. The bottle just slipped out of my hand." She reached up and grabbed a few paper towels and bent down to sop up the water on the floor.

"You need help?"

"No, I got it." As she bent down she let out a grunt. Not that loud but the guys heard it. When she had dried up the floor, she stood up to throw the towels away and she noticed that each of the guys were looking at the calendar that was hung on the wall by the door. Grabbing a muffin and another bottle of water she herself looked at the calendar. It was then that she noticed that some of the dates, not all of them, had red circles around the numbers.

 _She caught us._ Cal thought as he got up to leave. The other men also thought it was a good time to get the hell out of Dodge. As they started to leave she stopped them.

"What the hell? I don't believe this," she said as she walked to and took the calendar off the wall. She stood in the doorway blocking their exit and flipped back through the months. Sure enough, each month had about 7 days where the dates were circled in red.

"Son of a Bitch!" she screamed. "Assholes! You are all assholes. You think this is funny? She started to go postal!

Tank was walking down the hall to see what the hell was going on when Stephanie saw him.

"Are you aware of this?" she screamed holding up the calendar. "Do you know what your mature men have done? They have made a note of my periods. See, they circled the dates! Did you know that they did this? That is so discriminating!" She bent over grabbing her side dropping the calendar.

"Are you okay?" Tank questioned as he reached down and touched her gently on the back.

She stood up as straight as she could then walked down the hall to the bathroom. "Leave me alone."

Tank picked up the dropped calendar, looked at the circled numbers and looked at his men. "We will talk about this later. Dismissed."

As they passed him at the doorway Tank heard very loudly in his mind "Stay Alert!" Now he recognized the voice! It was Paul. Paul was sending him a message!

He immediately went and knocked on the bathroom door. "Little Girl. Are you all right?" There was no answer. "I'm coming in," he said as he walked in and found her bent over the sink.

"Leave me alone," she said softly.

"Nope. We're going to the hospital." Tank went over and carefully stood her up.

"I just need to go upstairs and lie down Tank." _Men! They just don't understand._

"Do you have your purse at your desk?" He asked as he gingerly walked her to the elevator.

"No, it's on seven."

"Do you remember where you put it?"

"It's hanging on the back of a bar stool."

When the elevator door opened to the garage, he grabbed the keys to Porsche Cayenne. He thought it had the lowest clearance of any of the SUVs. He helped her in, clicked her seat belt and closed the door. As he was walking to the driver's side he made a call. "Go to seven and get Stephanie's purse. It's on the bar stool and bring it to me. We'll be at St. Francis emergency."

Stephanie started to complain about Tank's overreaction to her menstrual cramps but then she began to feel nauseous. She has never felt sick to her stomach because of her period before. Maybe going to the hospital was a good idea after all.

Tank was driving as fast as he could. Her nausea got intense and she really didn't want to throw up in the Porsche. "You'd better put the pedal to the metal," she said.

"Little Girl, what did you say?" He asked

"You'd better put the pedal to the metal," she repeated.

"We're almost there . . . hang on."

When they got to the Emergency entrance, Tank ran to the passenger side and got her up.

"I don't think I can walk Tank. What's happening to me?"

"Your appendix wants to come out today."

"My appendix? How do you know that?"

By this time they were through the sliding glass doors and Tank yelled, "Possible ruptured appendix. Need some help here!" Tank's booming voice worked as many emergency personnel came to help.

When two orderlies tried to pick her up to place her on a gurney she vomited. "Let's get her upstairs!" said the doctor on call and they went very fast to the elevator.

"Tank, don't leave me." Stephanie quietly pleaded.

"I'm not going anywhere Little Girl. I'll be here the whole time."

The elevator door opened on the fourth floor and before he knew it he was being stopped by the double-doors to surgery.

"Wait here. We'll tell you when we know," said a nurse.

Tank looked around the surgical waiting room. It seemed like a busy day for St. Francis. He walked to the floor to ceiling window and looked outside. Ironically, it was a beautiful day. Before he knew it, Manny appeared with Stephanie's purse and then a doctor and nurse walked up to him.

"Her appendix has ruptured. We're getting her to surgery immediately. We'll keep you informed." And then they left.

Another nurse approached him with a clipboard. "If you can, we need someone to fill out some forms for us. Are either of you her husband?"

"No. She works for me. I can give you the information." Tank said adding, "I need to make some phone calls first okay?"

"That's fine. When you are done, just bring them to the counter." She said as she backed away.

Tank hit a button on his phone and waited for the person to pick up, "Mr. Plum. This is Pierre . . . well your daughter calls me Tank. I work for Rangeman. Yes Sir. I hate to tell you this but Stephanie is in surgery now at St. Francis. She has a ruptured appendix. Yes sir. Fourth floor. See you then."

That was an easy call. Now he had to call Ranger.


	10. Chapter 10

**Standard Disclaimer: All characters belong to Janet Evanovich.**

 _From Chapter 9_

 _Tank hit a button on his phone and waited for the person to pick up, "Mr. Plum. This is Pierre . . . well your daughter calls me Tank. I work for Rangeman. Yes Sir. I hate to tell you this but Stephanie's in surgery now at St. Francis. She has a ruptured appendix. Yes sir. Fourth floor. See you then."_

 _That was an easy call. Now he had to call Ranger._

 **Chapter 10: Someone had better be dead!**

In the middle of their presentation Ranger's phone vibrated in his pocket. He ignored it. Then it started to vibrate again. He politely excused himself to the side of the room. _Someone had better be dead!_ He said to himself.

"Report!" he said quietly but firmly.

"Stephanie is in surgery. St. Francis. Ruptured appendix. Get here!" was all Tank needed to say.

Ranger interrupted his way back into Lester's presentation. "Excuse me. One of my employees is in surgery. I have to leave. I apologize for any inconvenience."

"Who?" asked Bobby. "Why?"

"Stephanie. Ruptured appendix." He said as looked at his watch. "Damn, traffic is going to be . . ."

"We can fly you there. St. Francis has a helipad. I can have a pilot here in 5 minutes," said Marshall as he got on his phone.

Ten minutes later Mr. Marshall, Bobby and Lester stood on the tarmac and watched as the helicopter took off.

"Do you have a lot of female employees?" asked Marshall.

"Just two. And they are very special to us." explained Bobby. "We really appreciate your assistance. If you would like, we can continue our presentation."

"Are you sure you don't want to get on the road?" Marshall empathized. "I can just go over your written bid and get back to you. I know you are anxious to get back."

"Of course we are," Bobby said adding, "but Stephanie would have a fit if she found out that we didn't get this job because of her."

"Seems like a very special employee."

"She is." Both Lester and Bobby said at the same time. Then all three returned to the board room.

-RSRSRS-

 _Someone had better be dead!_ Ranger had said to himself over and over again. How could he be so damned insensitive to say such a selfish thing all because he was interrupted? He was angry with himself.

"ETA?" Ranger asked the pilot.

"Thirty-five tops."

Ranger texted Tank. "ETA 35 min."

Tank didn't question Ranger's ability to get here in half the time. The elevator opened and Edna Mazur, and Helen and Frank Plum stepped out. Tank walked up to them and told them everything he knew . . . which wasn't much. He then escorted them to the surgery waiting room and returned to his place by the window and waited.

Later when Ranger stepped off the elevator, he approached Tank at the window. "Any news?" asked Ranger.

"Not yet."

Then he went into the sitting area to check in with Stephanie's family. "Mr. and Mrs. Plum. Mrs. Mazur. I'm told there is no news as of yet. I apologize for taking so long to arrive, I was . . ."

"You left her on her own. I knew something like this would happen the minute she moved in with you," said Helen Plum. "How can you let that happen? Huh, how can you leave her alone?"

Before Ranger could answer Edna spoke up, "Excuse my daughter. She – is - an - ass. We all know how much you and your men love Stephanie."

"Mr. Manoso please" said Frank Plum as he pulled Ranger away from the women. Once they were out of range he claimed, "One day I'm going to stop apologizing for my wife."

"I knew she wasn't feeling well, but I didn't think it was her appendix. I thought it . . ." Ranger hesitated. He really didn't want to talk about his Babe's period with her father and he was glad when Frank interrupted him.

"I always thought it was hard to diagnose an appendicitis, but thank God your man did. The nurse told us that if Tank hadn't brought her in when he did she would have died. Plain and simple. Despite what my wife says, thank you." Frank shook his hand and returned to his wife and mother-in-law.

Ranger went and stood next to Tank who was still looking out of the window. "Anything I should know?"

They both stood in silence, just looking out of the window.

Ranger started talking again. "I knew she was having bad cramps but . . ."

"It was Paul. He told me to Stay Alert. I don't know how, and I've been standing here trying not to freak out about the whole thing, but to answer your question. It was Paul." Tank said, never making eye contact with anyone.

They stood silently.

When he thought he could continue talking about it Tank said, "Last night in the shower and while I was asleep I distinctly heard 'Stay Alert.' Then today at the office, after she ran to the bathroom I heard it again but this time, I recognized the voice. It was Paul."

Still looking out of the window he continued but this time with almost a nervous laugh, "And this is the kicker. In the car on the way over here Stephanie told me _twice_ to 'Put the pedal to the metal.' Can you believe it?"

Ranger looked at Tank and he could see the stress on his face. He had no words.

About thirty minutes later a doctor came into the waiting area.

"Stephanie Plum family?"

"Yes, we're here." said Helen as she, Frank and Edna stood. Tank and Ranger also gathered around.

"I'm Dr. Kyle Smith. She got here just in the nick of time. Her appendix ruptured and started to spill into her abdominal cavity, but we feel that we removed all of the discharge and puss and cleaned up the area. She's going to have to stay here under close observation while we check for any possible infections, but if none, she should be good to go home in four to five days. Right now, she's in recovery and then we will send her to a private room." He paused and looked at the concern of the people around him. "That could take another hour or two so if you want to maybe go grab some lunch downstairs we can have a more definite time when you return."

"Thank you doctor," was said by many and hands were shaken.

Frank, his wife and mother-in-law took the doctor's advice and went to the cafeteria. Ranger and Tank finally sat down. Tank texted Bobby and Lester, and Ranger called his parents.

About 45 minutes later a recovery room nurse entered the waiting area and asked, "Is there by any chance a 'Tank' and a 'Ranger' here?"

"Yes ma'am." They both said in tandem as they stood at attention.

The nurse was surprised. She looked at the 6 foot plus man standing there "Wow! I guess there really is a man named Tank." Then she looked at Ranger. "Well, uhm, Miss Plum is requesting to see both of you. We don't usually let two people at a time in recovery but she's being very adamant. Please follow me."

"Wait! I'm her mother." Helen said as she stood up. "I think that I should be able to see my daughter first."

"Helen," Frank Plum said as he got up and grabbed he wife's arm. "That man saved out daughter's life today. If she wants to see him, we will just wait."

"Thank you!" mouthed the nurse to Frank Plum and she gestured for the two men in black to follow her. When they walked through the double doors she told them what to expect.

"She's coming down from the anesthesia and she's going to look and talk a little shaky. Don't let the scare you. It's normal. And we really can't let you stay for too long okay."

They both thanked her as she led them directly to Stephanie's bed.

Stephanie had her eyes closed until she heard them walk up. She was, as the nurse warned, shaking. Not violently but both men were concerned. Ranger took her left hand and Tank took her right.

"Hi." She smiled.

"How are you feeling?" Ranger said as her bent down to kiss her on the cheek.

"I'm hap-py." Then she turned her head to look at a Tank. She squeezed his hand and talked directly to him.

"He he he was so hap-py Tank. He was smile-ling. And and and Tank he was so proud of you!" Stephanie said slowly as she struggled to get the words out.

Then she turned to Ranger and repeated the same thing. "He was so hap-py. He, he, he was so hap-py."

She turned her head and looked at Tank again and smiled. "He was so prou- oud of you. He was smile-ling and and and he was so hap-py."

Ranger stroked her arm in an effort to keep her from shaking so much. "Babe, who are you talking about?"

Stephanie didn't look at either of them, she just looked straight up at the ceiling and simply said, "Paul."

She looked at Tank, and this time she started crying but smiling at the same time. "He is so proud of you!" She squeezed his hand. "He is so hap-py."

Then she stopped talking for a few seconds.

She looked to her left. "Carlos, will you sta sta stay with me to-night?"

"I wouldn't be anywhere else." He answered as he continued to hold her shaking hand.

"O-kay. I'm going back to sleep now. O-kay?"

She squeezed Tank's hand again and just smiled as if she were looking at someone else. Within 30 seconds she was asleep again.

Tank and Ranger stood there looking at each other. Then Tank left the room.

The nurse came back in and said that Stephanie would be asleep for a while but, they were getting ready to bring her to her hospital room so Ranger would have to leave. He bent down and kissed Stephanie again.

Ranger nodded and went out to find Tank. Another nurse at the counter pointed to the end of the hall. Ranger took that as a sign that that is where he would find his friend.

As he approached the end of the quiet hallway, he saw Tank. He was sitting in a chair with his elbows on his knees and his head bent down.

Quietly Tank said. "I don't know what to say. I don't know what to think. I don't know what to believe."

Ranger just put his palm on Tank's back and just stood there quietly supporting his friend.

-RSRSRS-

Eventually, Stephanie was moved to a room and Helen took over. She sent Frank away and she and her mother were going to stay with her daughter until visiting hours were over.

Edna reassured Ranger, "We'll take good care of her. I promise."

Although he wanted to stay by his Babe's side, Ranger agreed to leave the women in charge. He wanted to check up on Tank anyway. Before he left, he kissed his sleeping beauty once more and said that he would be back around 8:00 that night.

Helen wasn't happy about it but she agreed.


	11. Chapter 11

**Standard Disclaimer: All characters belong to Janet Evanovich.**

 _From Chapter 10_

 _Eventually, Stephanie was moved to a room and Helen took over. She and her mother were going to stay with her daughter until visiting hours were over._

 _Edna reassured Ranger, "We'll take good care of her. I promise."_

 _Although he wanted to stay by his Babe's side, Ranger agreed to leave the women in charge. That and he wanted to check up on Tank. Before he left, kissed his sleeping beauty and said that he would be back around 8:00 that night. Helen wasn't happy about it but she agreed._

 **Chapter 11: Paul**

At 8:00 p.m. sharp Ranger walked into her hospital room. Stephanie was lying there with her eyes closed. The TV was not on. As she heard him walk in, she opened her eyes.

"Hi, nice the see you again." Her voice sounded upbeat, but a little scratchy.

He immediately went over and kissed her.

"I'm actually surprised to see you here." She said.

"What do you mean? Did you think I wouldn't be here?" He said as he put his overnight bag on the floor by the bathroom door.

"The whole time I've been in this room, my mother has told everybody, and I mean everybody . . . repeatedly that you and I are not married and that it would be against hospital policy for you to be able to stay with me tonight."

Ranger flashed his smile, "You'd be surprised what doors my charm and my smile can get me into. Actually, I called Dr. Smith and arranged it with him. He said that it was not a rule that the hospital follows religiously anyway."

He pulled the chair close to the bed. "Did you get some rest?"

"Mom and grandma argued with each other a lot and then they watched TV most of the day. Valerie has three kids with chicken pox so my mom forbids her to be around me. Connie, Lula and even Eddie Gazarra came by. But yes, to answer your question, I managed to get some sleep."

"How about you. How did the Peerless pitch go?"

"We'll see. He says he has two more companies bidding tomorrow and we will get the news probably by Friday. Have you eaten anything today?"

Stephanie pointed to one of the IV bags. "Just fluids. Apparently you can't have solid foods after abdominal surgery."

"Let me know if you want anything. Okay?" He kissed her again. He was so glad that she wasn't shaking anymore.

"Well, there is something that you can do for me."

"Sex?"

"Ah no. I'm sure that if I can't have food, sex is out of the question too."

"Damn." He joked. "What do you need?"

"Can you lower the bed? It kinda hurts being bent in the middle."

"Sure." Then he went to the bed controls and started to push buttons. The head of the bed started to rise.

"No. You're going the opposite way." She said.

"Okay." Then he pushed another button and the same thing happened.

Stephanie said again, "You're still going in the wrong direction. I want it to go down."

"I understand that, but I can't seem to figure this thing out."

"Oh boy." She said sarcastically, "You can maneuver a Porsche 911 but you can't operate a hospital bed." The bed was almost at 90 degrees. "Ouch. Stop it!"

Ranger pushed another button and the TV came on. "Shit!" He mumbled.

That made Stephanie start to laugh but, it caused her a little pain as well. "Ow, ow don't make me laugh." She grabbed her stomach. "Ow, wait until I tell the guys. Ow!"

"You wouldn't dare?" He turned off the TV and put the device down. "Hang on, I'll get the nurse."

He went outside and came back with Cindy, the night nurse.

"I can't get the bed to function." He pointed to the device as they walked into the room.

She immediately said as she looked him over, "Seems to me like you are a man who can function very well in any bed."

"Ow," Stephanie laughed again, "That's the truth. Ow, don't make me laugh!"

Cindy took the device and showed Ranger how to use it and "voila" the head of the bed started to go down. Then she looked at her patient, "Tell me when you're comfortable."

"That's fine. Thanks. Cindy, while you are here, I could use a trip to the bathroom."

"No problem Sweetie." She said. "Okay, MacGyver, if you move out of the way, I can take her to the bathroom." Stephanie and Cindy just smiled.

Ranger happily got out of the way. When they were in the bathroom taking care of business, he pulled his laptop out of his bag and put it on the rolling tray. He also noticed the flowers. Many of them were from the men who worked for him. Small arrangements but nice. _Interesting._

After Cindy and Ranger helped her back on the bed Cindy took Stephanie's vitals.

"Okay, Dr. Smith has you down for two more IVs of antibiotics to guard against any infections," she said as she looked at the IV drip, "and this one has about 30 minutes to go. So I'll leave you two until then. Keep it down please."

As she left the room Stephanie described her as a sweetheart.

She turned on the TV and they started to watch one of those rerun networks. During one of the long commercial breaks Stephanie muted the TV and asked, "Carlos will you tell me something if I asked you."

"If I can."

She hesitated. She vaguely remembered what happened in the recovery room but she wasn't sure. "Who is Paul? And . . . is Tank okay?"

Ranger sighed then took the chair and spun it around so that they could look each other in the eyes. Again he took his Babe's hand. "Tank is fine. I left his house a few minutes ago to come here." Ranger looked at his watch and added, "He's probably drunk as a skunk by now . . . but overall, I think he is going to be okay."

Ranger took his thumb and slowly caressed each of his Babe's fingers. After a short pause he started. "Paul . . . was a Ranger."

"Was?" Stephanie used the remote to turn off the muted TV.

"Yes. Paul, Tank and I were in the same division when we first started out as Rangers, so this was a long time ago. Paul, was from west Texas and he had some strange sayings. Anyway the best way that I can explain it is this way. On our last mission together as a team, we were supposed to retrieve some computer hard drive from an enemy compound. There were five of us. Tank, Paul, John, Winston and myself and we all had our specialties. Paul was the computer nerd who knew exactly what to do when we got there.

So, we worked up a strategy and we made our camp about five miles from the enemy's location. We were going to infiltrate after dark so we all managed to get some sleep that day. Paul woke up complaining of a bad stomach ache but he took some medicine and he thought it was better. Night came. We we're quiet during the walk to our position. We got in, grabbed the computer device and got out without any problem.

It was pitch black that night and as we were heading back to our camp Paul pulled over and threw up violently. During the second mile back he stopped, bent over at the waist and announced that he couldn't walk anymore. Tank put his hand on Paul's forehead and reported that he had a fever. Then Tank picked up Paul and carried him back the final three miles."

Ranger took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "By the time we got back to base camp, Paul was dead."

"I'm sorry." Stephanie whispered.

"The autopsy report stated that he suffered a ruptured appendix. And . . . even though there was nothing any of us could have done, Tank took it hard. He thought that the way he carried him for the last three miles over the rough terrain was the reason that Paul had died.

Of course we know that's not true. When your appendix bursts that's it, and there is nothing that anyone could have done."

Ranger now had her left hand sandwiched between his two.

"Before we saw you in the recovery room this afternoon Tank told me that Paul had come to him in his sleep last night and told him to stay alert. Then, he said that when he was driving you here you told him to 'Put the pedal to the metal.'"

"I said what?"

"Put the pedal to the metal." Ranger smiled in remembrance, "That, believe it or not, was Paul's "go to" phrase. If we were leaving for a mission or even if we were going to lunch he'd say 'alright men, let's 'Put the Pedal to the Metal.' When you said that this morning, that really freaked Tank out."

Ranger smiled. "Later in the recovery room when you told us that Paul was so proud of Tank and that he was happy, I think was the first time that Tank understood that Paul's death was not his fault."

They were silent for a while.

Cindy knocked and entered but stayed by the door. "Sorry to interrupt, but we have a cabinet that is stuck out here and we were wondering if you could help us out?"

"As long as it's not a control for the bed, he should be okay." Stephanie said, hoping to alleviate the sadness in the room.

-RSRSRS-

Out in the hallway Ranger was surprised to see Stephanie's father standing by the nurse's desk.

"Mr. Plum?"

"We need to talk." Said Frank Plum.

-RSRSRS-

Stephanie thought about Paul and Tank. Quietly, she closed her eyes and whispered, "Thank you Paul."

About five minutes later Ranger and Frank Plum came in.

"Daddy, what are you doing here?"

Ranger returned to his side of her bed and Frank went to the other side.

"Pumpkin I've got some news to give you and none of us want you to get upset."

"Okay."

"Your Uncle Ray had a stroke today. The doctors say that it is pretty bad and they don't expect a good outcome. Your grandmother and mother are obviously upset. They are at home packing. You know that your mother is afraid to fly so we are leaving around five tomorrow morning and driving to Ohio. Carlos assures me that he will take good care of you while we are gone."

Stephanie started to cry a little, "How's Aunt Clara?"

"She's upset, but you know that she is a strong woman."

"Daddy, I wish I could go with you."

"I know sweetie but we all know you can't."

She thought for a minute. "Carlos, can you lend him one of Rangeman's vehicles? Daddy are you sure your car can make it that far?"

"Carlos has already offered, but I'm sure my Buick will make it just fine."

"I'm so sad," Stephanie started to cry. "Will you tell Grandma my thoughts are with her?"

Ranger handed her some tissue.

"I sure will. The only thing that you need to do is get better okay?"

She nodded her head. "Will you keep in touch with us?"

"Yes, we'll call frequently."

Frank Plum bent down and kissed his daughter on the forehead. "I'm going to go. We both need our sleep. Take care of yourself."

"I'll walk you to the elevator," said Ranger.

While she was alone she took the tissue and wiped her eyes.

When Ranger returned he kissed her again and sat by the bed and held her hand. After she calmed down Ranger asked, "You've never mentioned that you had an uncle before?"

"I'm sorry, I haven't even seen him or Aunt Clara in years. Uncle Ray is about ten years older than my mom. _(Pause)_ I remember some good visits when I was a little girl. But he moved to Ohio after the war and we haven't seen them much."

"What war, Vietnam?" Ranger assumed knowing her uncle's approximate age.

"Yes. My mom and grandma don't talk about it much but from what I know, he was very young when he left for Vietnam. They were all so worried. Then less than a month later Grandma got the news that he was injured in combat. He was in a hospital overseas for a long time."

"Do you know the extent of his injuries?" Ranger asked.

"No, it was pretty much hidden from me and Valerie. While he was overseas he met his future wife Clara. She was an Army nurse. When he was shipped home, instead of returning to a veteran's hospital in New Jersey, they went to one in Ohio because that's where Aunt Clara lived."

Stephanie continued to wipe the tears that were leaking out of her eyes. "They eventually got married and that's it. They have come in for family weddings and funerals, but for the most part they correspond by letter or Christmas card. My grandmother has gone for visits though."

"Do they have any children?" Questioned Ranger.

"No. They never had children. They traveled a lot and one time I remember while we were in high school, Valerie and I got home one day and they were there in the house. They just showed up. They loved to travel and they were driving back from Savannah. They brought us souvenirs."

Stephanie smiled, "I remember that whenever I saw then, they always seemed to be so in love."

Stephanie continued to wipe her eyes. "Carlos, do you think you can find out what happened to my Uncle Ray in Vietnam?"

"I can try."

"His name is Raymond Aldon Mazur and he was in the Army. That's all I can give you."

"I'll see if Bobby can look for me. I can't promise anything though, some of the records from that war are still not put on computer yet." He explained.

"Okay."

They sat in silence for a while.

"It's amazing huh?" She said quietly. "To go overseas to a place you've never heard of before. Then you get injured but you meet the woman who would end up being your wife. I guess that's what they call the Florence Henderson Effect?"

Ranger, who had been as solemn as he could be up until that moment couldn't believe that she just said that. He tried to keep his smile inside. He bowed his head trying to keep from laughing out loud.

He looked up and saw his Babe looking at him like he was insane. Then he couldn't help it. He started to quietly laugh. "I'm sorry, forgive me." He was so embarrassed. _Carlos Manoso was brought up better than that!_ But he couldn't help it the way his Babe innocently said what she said.

"Why are you laughing?"

He continued to laugh and he felt horrible about it at the same time. He grabbed some tissues and wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry." He laughed some more.

Regaining his composure he explained. "It's the Florence Nightingale Effect. When a man falls in love with his nurse."

"What did I say?"

He started to chuckle. Stephanie had never heard him chuckle before and as confused as she was, she started to chuckle too.

"You said the Florence Henderson effect. Babe, Florence Henderson is the actress who played Carol Brady on _The Brady Bunch_."

"Oh. I guess that is pretty funny. I forgive you for laughing."

And in the mist of all the sadness that was part of their life that day, they both laughed out loud. They couldn't help it. It was some sort of an emotional release.

Cindy walked in. "Are you two going to laugh all night? You really need to get some rest young lady," scolded the nurse.

"We're sorry," Ranger said. "We'll calm down."

And with that, Ranger held his Babe's hand and together, they eventually stopped laughing and fell asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

**Standard Disclaimer: All characters belong to Janet Evanovich.**

 _From Chapter 11_

 _And in the mist of all the sadness that was part of their life that day, they both laughed out loud. They couldn't help it. It was some sort of an emotional release._

 _Cindy walked in. "Are you two going to laugh all night? You really need to get some rest young lady," scolded the nurse._

 _"We're sorry," Ranger said. "We'll calm down."_

 _And with that, Ranger held his Babe's hand and together, they eventually stopped laughing and fell asleep._

 **Chapter 12: The Recovery**

The next morning, Dr. Smith came in and looked at Stephanie's numbers. She had awakened around 3:00 a.m. complaining that she was hot. Her temperature was 103 so Cindy and another nurse cooled her down with a sponge bath, a cooling blanket and some aspirin. According to the nurses, it was a normal occurrence after an appendectomy.

Whatever they did, it worked. Her fever "broke" and she was able to get some sleep. Ranger did not. He watched her until the sun came up.

He didn't want his Babe to be alone in the hospital, so early that morning, he called his mother and explained the Plum's departure for Ohio. His parents were planning on coming down to see them anyway so she said that she would take care of everything he needed that regarded Stephanie.

"I don't need round the clock attention, you know?" Stephanie insisted sleepily. "I am capable of staying here by myself. As long as you come and stay with me at night, I'll be okay."

"Too bad Babe. The wheels are already in motion. My mother has probably called Ella and they probably have everything planned out in triplicate."

"You see, that's what I mean, Ella has enough to do every day, she doesn't have to worry . . ."

Ranger cut her off with a kiss.

"Hey, that's not fair." His Babe said.

"Life isn't fair, haven't you ever head that?" He said as he kissed her again.

Just then Bobby entered the room.

"Geeze, you two never stop!" He said.

"If you were me, would you stop?" Ranger stated. Bobby agreed.

"Ella sent me to stay with you until she could get here. How are you feeling?" He asked.

"I'm okay but can you do me a favor?" Stephanie asked him.

Bobby nodded his head, "Anything for you Beautiful."

"While everyone is focused on me, can you make sure that he," and she nudged her head toward Ranger, "gets some sleep and gets something to eat."

"No problem. Okay Boss, you're excused until 1900 hours tonight."

Ranger was too tired to argue so he played the game. "Sir yes Sir!" Ranger saluted. Then he grabbed his bag, kissed his Babe again and said, "Call me or text me if you need anything or . . . if my mother drives you crazy okay?"

"I will. I love you."

"I love you too." He said but when he got to the door he looked directly at Stephanie and warned, "I'm leaving Bobby as your personal nurse right now, but I don't want to hear about anything like a Michael Brady effect when I get back here tonight! Got it?"

Bobby just tennis-matched between the two of them not understanding a word.

She laughed. "I promise."

Ranger threw her a kiss then left the room leaving her to explain to Bobby what the hell he meant.

-RSRSRS-

On the way back to Haywood, he called his mother and she agreed that she would not overdo it. He thanked her again. When he got to his office on the fifth floor, many of the men were curious about Stephanie's condition. He told them about her fever last night and that her doctor thinks she is doing better. He also thanked them for their flowers.

"May we visit her in the hospital?" Woody asked.

Ranger, who has secretly thought that his men's affection toward his Babe was a good thing simply answered, "As long as you are not on duty it's fine but, you'll have to get through my mother and Ella to do so." They all laughed.

Before he went up to seven Ranger checked in on Tank, who was surprising happy and at peace with himself. Ranger figured since Rangeman still had a couple of days before the Peerless bid would be announced, and since Stephanie would be cared for, he would allow himself to get some sleep. And he did.

-RSRSRS-

Ella and Carlos' mom insisted that Stephanie rest the whole day. Once, a couple of ladies from Stephanie's old apartment came by to say hello. They talked about Dillion and how much they loved Stephanie's grandma as their new neighbor.

Stephanie was having a hard time staying awake for an extended amount of time anyway. The day nurses were very good at taking her temperature on a regular basis. It fluctuated around 99.6 and they didn't want it to go any higher. Every three hours someone came in and took some blood to check for any infections. So far her numbers were normal. It looked like there were not going to be any complications.

She was given applesauce for lunch but she didn't eat it all. She did enjoy a chocolate shake that Woody had brought her when he briefly visited.

Ella went back to Haywood with Woody and Carlos's mother stayed until Ranger returned for the night.

Ranger and his father entered the room about 7:00 p.m. He went to his mother and kissed her first. "Thank you so much." Then he let his father kiss his wife.

They all looked at Stephanie and whispered. "She's asleep. She has been asleep most of the day. I guess yesterday was a little too stressful for her so she's getting her rest today. She'll probably sleep for the rest of the night. You get some sleep too." Said his mother.

"I will. Are you going to stay in my apartment?"

"No, we are staying with Ella and Luis," she said.

With hugs all around, they left. Ranger moved the chair to where it was last night, grabbed her hand and watched her sleep until he fell asleep himself.

-RSRSRS-

The next two days were about the same. Except for a bowl of soup that Ella had brought, Stephanie ate and drank less. Carlos' mother was concerned because Stephanie was becoming lethargic and she seemed to be getting weaker.

Making things worse, Stephanie received a phone call from her mother. Her Uncle Ray passed away early in the morning and now they were planning his funeral. Stephanie was very quiet after that.

At one time during the second day, Mary Lou came to visit so Carlos' mom took the opportunity to stretch her legs and walked to the cafeteria and grab a cup of tea. She called her son. "She's very depressed today. Keeps her eyes closed a lot. Something is making her sad."

"I know, she really hates being in a hospital." He said adding. "I can understand her frustration. Have the doctors said anything about when she can leave?"

"Not to me, but maybe you can ask them when you get here. Carlos' mom was getting ready to tell him about another setback when Tank walked into his office.

"Mr. Marshall is on the phone. Conference Room One."

"Mom, I have to go. See you later. I love you. Goodbye."

When Ranger got to the conference room Tank continued to talk to the caller on the speaker phone. "Mr. Marshall, we are all here, please continue."

"Congratulations! The Peerless corporation board has chosen Rangeman as our new security firm."

All the men in the conference expressed their excitement.

Ranger said proudly, "We are very grateful that we have been given the opportunity to work with your outstanding company. We won't let you down. Lester Santos and our lawyer will be contacting you tomorrow to finalize the contract. Again, we are excited about the new opportunity for Peerless Aviation. Thank you."

Marshall said, "The board and I are going out to celebrate, so I'll wait until I hear from your lawyer. Thanks again. Goodbye."

"Goodbye Sir." Ranger said as he pushed the button to end the conference call.

The men hugged and congratulated each other. Someone had gone and grabbed beers for everyone and passed them out.

"This could be the best thing that has happened to Rangeman since . . ." Ranger was trying to think of a way to describe how large this contract was to their company, but he couldn't think of a description to finish the sentence.

Then Lester spoke up. He raised his bottle and said, "Let me handle this cousin. This could be the best thing to happen to Rangeman since Stephanie Plum!"

Everyone smiled and clicked their bottles with each other and agreed.


	13. Chapter 13

**Standard Disclaimer: All characters belong to Janet Evanovich**

 _From Chapter 12_

 _"This could be the best thing that has happened to Rangeman since . . ." Ranger was trying to think of a way to describe how large this contract was to their company, but he couldn't think or a description to finish the sentence._

 _Then Lester spoke up. He raised his bottle and said, "Let me handle this cousin. This could be the best thing to happen to Rangeman since Stephanie Plum!"_

 _Everyone smiled and clicked their bottles with each other and agreed._

 **Chapter: 13 The Second Opinion**

 _ **Authors Note: I'm relying on Google for the Spanish translations and, all medical mistakes are mine.**_

An hour later, Ranger, Bobby and Tank sat at the conference room table while Lester stood at the white board developing a time line for the Peerless job. They had a lot to do and a lot of new Rangemen to hire.

There was a gentle knock on the door and Carlos' mother stepped in.

"Good afternoon gentlemen." She could see that the men were smiling. "You all are looking well."

Lester went over and hugged her. "¡Mi tía favorita! We received the word. We got the big account that I told you about!" _(My favorite aunt!)_

"Felicidades, tu madre estará orgullosa de ti." _(Congratulations, your mother will be proud of you.)_

She smiled along with them. "Carlos, puedo verte por un momento?" _(Carlos, may I see you for a moment?)_

Ranger escorted his mother out into the hallway and kissed her on the cheek. She then told him that Stephanie wanted to be alone so she so sent her home early. Carlos' mom was worried about her and she wanted to make sure that her son knew the way his Babe was feeling before he saw her later.

Concerned, Ranger put his priorities in order, returned to the conference room and told the men that he would to rely on their good judgement. He went to his apartment, packed his bag and left for the hospital.

As he was walking down the hall to Stephanie's room, one of the nurses that he had seen for the past few days said, "She's not in a good mood today. She picked at her dinner. See if you can cheer her up a bit, okay? Oh, and if you can get her to eat something, just let me know and I'll have something brought up from the kitchen."

He stopped outside of her room, took a deep breath and walked in. "Ta Da! You are looking at a man whose company just got the job for the Peerless Airport. Lester Santos, if you can believe it, was speechless! At first . . . now we can't get him to shut up. But you know what that's like."

"Congratulations." His Babe said quietly. She sounded so defeated. "Wish I could have been home to see that."

Then to his surprise she started crying. Not a quiet cry. She was sobbing. She even put her hands up to cover her face. He took a deep breath, went over and put the chair where he normally puts it and pulled her hands away from her face and gave her some tissue. He reached over and hugged her. His mother was right. She was severely depressed.

It was as if Stephanie had been holding in her emotions all day . . . and now that he was there she couldn't control the shaking in her voice and the flowing tears.

Ranger knew that he had to be strong for her and he scooted the chair close, lowered the railing on her left side and got as close to her as he could and just allowed her to cry. He hoped that when she was ready, she'd tell him what was wrong.

After a couple of minutes she started talking. _God, she was depressed._

"I want to go home."

"I know you do baby but . . ."

"I don't want to stay here, I want to go home."

Then she made eye contact with him and asked simply, "Can you take me home Carlos, I want to go home please. I don't understand this place. I want to go home." And then she repeated it all over and over again.

It was getting harder and harder for Ranger to control his emotions.

"I want to . . . I want to . . ." She paused.

"What do you want my love." He asked simply as he brushed some of her hair away from her face. And then she let it all out, talking, sniffling and wiping her eyes at the same time

"I want to do anything except be here, I want to drive, I want to eat pizza, I want to make love to you all night and I want to . . ." She paused before she finished her thought. "I want to hug my grandmother and tell her how sorry I am that her only son died, but. . . I can't do that because I'm here. And I don't understand everybody telling me one thing but I know . . . I know what they are telling me isn't what's happening." And she started crying again.

In their recent conversations, Ranger and his father talked about the special connections between two people who were meant to be together. His father told him that if one person in the couple was having a hard time it was the job of the other one to: "Aborde el bote por las aguas turbulentas." _(Paddle the boat through the rough waters.)_

When Stephanie calmed down again Ranger started paddling. "Okay, sweetie, please tell me what I can do. What don't you understand?"

"I've never had my appendix removed before so . . . I only know what I'm being told. You know. The nurses and Dr. Smith are telling me that what I'm going through is normal. Today Mary Lou told me that her brother also took a few days to recover . . . so I don't know how I feel."

She took another tissue and continued. "I'm supposed to be getting better right? But I'm not getting better. I can't eat. I can't sleep because I've been lying on my back too long. When I try to roll over . . . I roll right back."

"And. . ." At this point she closed her eyes in total embarrassment. "And today, they put a catheter in me because I was too weak to walk to the bathroom. So . . . Carlos, I don't think I'm getting any better."

Ranger took a deep breath. Then he took out his phone and pressed a button.

"Brown," replied Bobby.

"Stephanie and I don't think she's getting better. How do we go about requesting a second opinion?"

Bobby hesitated. "I'll get back to you."

Ranger was having a hard time controlling his emotions. She seemed defeated and seeing her quietly crying was harder on him than anything he could imagine.

"Do you think you could roll me on my side? My back is killing me. But you might have to put a pillow behind me so I don't roll back."

"I have the perfect thing to keep you from rolling back." First he raised the bed railing, then he took off his boots. He took her hands in one of his and with his other hand around her waist he pulled her to her side. Then he walked to the other side of the bed, lowered the railing and, being careful of the catheter tube, laid down on the bed with his front to her back and held her close.

He felt her calm down immediately. Then his phone buzzed. He put in down on the bed in front of her and hit the speaker.

"Col. Brandt is on her way." Said Bobby.

"Repeat."

Bobby explained. "I called Col. Brandt for advice about what we should do to get a second diagnosis. She heard me out. She said she owes you a favor and she'll be here at 0600. I'm supposed to contact the hospital and let them know that they will be having a visiting physician, and I'm supposed to have any electronic reports on Stephanie's condition forwarded to her computer."

 _Pause_

"Wow." Ranger said.

"I know. Why does she owe you a favor?" Bobby questioned.

"I have no idea?"

"How is Stephanie?"

"I'm right here Bobby. I'm better now that Carlos is here. I miss you." Stephanie said.

"I miss you too Beautiful. Look, I have a few calls to make. I will see you at 0600. Get some rest, okay?"

"Ten four." Said Ranger adding, "Go ahead and get some sleep Babe, the cavalry is on the way."

"What?"

"I'll explain later, lets us see if we can take a nap now, okay?"

And that worked. Less than 10 minutes later his Babe was sleeping peacefully.

Colonel Patricia Brandt, decorated US Army physician. Born and raised on military bases as her father was Major General Connor Brandt, division leader in Desert Storm. She was in the first class of females to graduate from West Point in 1980. She seemed to be everywhere the action was. Afghanistan, Columbia, Korea, the Sudan. Many times she was the attending physician wherever Ranger, Bobby, Tank and others were stationed. The last time Ranger had seen her was at her father's funeral. Now 59 years old, Col. Brandt transferred to and is now working for Walter Reed in Washington, DC.

Ranger thought to himself that St. Francis better be on their best behavior tomorrow. Col. Brandt did not take guff from anyone. He also thought that it was good that he brought his razor and clean clothes. No sir. Col. Brandt didn't take guff from anyone.

-RSRSRS-

Ranger was happy that his Babe seemed to get some rest.

At first.

Apparently word had gotten to the hospital staff that Col. Patricia Brandt would be arriving early in the morning. At 9:00 p.m. he got out of the bed as a nurse came in to take some blood. At 11:00 p.m. another nurse came in to check Stephanie's vitals. Her blood pressure was a little low. At 3:00 a.m. Dr. Smith came in himself in a beautifully cleaned and ironed physician's coat and established a new IV.

Finally the distractions stopped and they were able to sleep again. Ranger was a little worried because through it all, his Babe remained quiet. A silent Stephanie scared him.

At 0530 Ranger got up and took a shower and shaved. Col. Brandt was coming and he wanted to pass muster.

At 0600 on the dot Dr. Smith, a hospital executive, a very nervous nurse, Bobby and Col. Patricia Brandt entered the room. At first Ranger and Bobby instinctively stood at attention.

"Stephanie," Ranger gently nudged her on the shoulder "The doctors are here to check you out."

"Miss Plum. I'm Dr. Brandt. Can you squeeze my hand?" she asked as she took Stephanie's hand. "Can you squeeze a little harder?" Dr. Brandt looked at the chart and noted her vitals from the last hour. Then she took her stethoscope and listened to Stephanie's heart and lungs.

"Miss Plum, Capt. Manoso tells me that your back hurts. Can you tell me where?"

"Please call me Stephanie." she said quietly.

Dr. Brandt smiled a little. "Stephanie, where does your back hurt?"

"Lower right."

"Okay, let's get you up at look at it." Stephanie was very weak so Ranger and the nurse carefully pulled her up and let her knees hang over the side. Ranger let her lean up against him as the doctors moved to the other side of the bed. The nurse pulled up the gown and Dr. Brandt and Dr. Smith both looked at her lower back. Immediately Dr. Brandt reached out and put her palm on her back. She found the area to be hot, tight and, she saw a discoloration as she palpated the area.

"Is this the sensitive area?"

Stephanie nodded her head.

The doctors agreed that something was wrong. They lowered their voices and backed away to the corner of the room to talk. "Let's get her to X-ray. I need to see what's going on in there. You might want to get her on the surgery rotation as well." Instructed Brandt. Dr. Smith agreed.

"Let's lie her back down but put her on her left side." Brandt ordered as she walked around the foot of the bed to the other side and bent down to make eye contact with Stephanie.

"Stephanie, we are going to get you to X-Ray." Dr. Brandt said as she pulled the sheet and blanket up to cover her new patient. There is something going on in your lower abdomen and we need to check it out. If it is what we think it is, we are going to have to go back in and operate."

"I'm tired." Stephanie replied.

"I know you're tired but we need you to keep fighting for us okay."

"I'm tired." She repeated.

"Let's get going." Dr. Smith said.

They didn't wait for a gurney, the just unhooked the hospital bed and rolled her away with Ranger holding her hand the whole time offering encouraging sayings.

In X-Ray Stephanie was transferred to a gurney and then after the technicians were done she, Ranger and Bobby were transferred to a holding room on the surgery floor of St. Francis. Privilege has power and within 30 minutes Stephanie's back and abdomen were X-Rayed and the two doctors had conferred.

They entered the room. "We've looked at the films and we believe that there is some sort of discharge in her abdomen. It could be her body rejecting the internal stitches from the removal of the appendix, but we won't know until we get in there and look. It seems to be a slow bleed, that's why it has taken so long to diagnose." Said Dr. Brandt.

"We need to get her to Pre-Op to get her ready. This is where you are going to have to leave her with us." She said as she looked at Bobby and Ranger.

"No. I'm going to stay." Ranger said quietly, "I won't be in the way." _He couldn't leave her._

Dr. Brandt looked at Bobby for support. Ranger kept his eyes on his Babe as he held her hand. Dr. Brandt touched him on his shoulder. "I promise, I'll be with her the whole time. Carlos, we need to get her prepared." Ranger still did not move. She then nodded to Bobby.

"Come on man. We need to go." He said as he put his hand on Rangers shoulder.

Ranger quietly nodded his head and then leaned over and kissed his Babe. "You're going to be okay. You know. Dr. Brandt is going to make you better. I'll be waiting I promise." Then he put his face as close to hers as he could. "Te quiero. Tú eres mi amor eterno." Then he kissed her _. (I love you. You are my everlasting love.)_

She squeezed his hand and then Bobby pulled him up and away.

Once out of the room, the doctors got busy.

-RSRSRS-

Bobby managed to get Ranger a step into the hallway but that was as far as he would go. Ranger turned around and looked back. _His life was on a gurney on the other side of that door._ He couldn't move any further.

"Come on Ranger, let's go to the waiting room." Bobby tried to get him to move, but it was to no avail. Ranger was frozen.

Bobby continued to ask Ranger to go with him. He pleaded with him repeatedly that he just couldn't stand there in the hallway. Still he didn't move.

Bobby then distinctly felt a tap on his shoulder. When he saw who tapped him, he nodded his head then walked to the nearby waiting room.

"Carlos mi hijo Déjanos ir a caminar." _(_ _Carlos my son. Let us go take a walk.)_

Still looking at the closed door he said, "No puedo dejar a su papá. Ella es mi vida." _(_ _I can't leave her papa. She is my life.)_

"Carlos, mírame mi hijo." _(_ _Carlos, Look at me my son.)_

Ranger turned around with tears in his eyes and he didn't care who saw him. His father stepped to him and hugged him. Hard. While he still had him in the hug, Carlos' father said. "Déjanos dar un paseo y encontrar un lugar para hablar." _(_ _Let us go take a walk and find a place to talk.)_

Then with his arm strongly around his son's shoulders and a little nudging, he got Ranger to start moving. They slowly walked side by side and as they passed in front of Carlos' mother, Bobby and Ella in the waiting room his father said, "Volveremos." (We will be back.)


	14. Chapter 14

**Standard Disclaimer: All characters belong to Janet Evanovich**

 _From Chapter 13_

" _Carlos mi hijo Déjanos ir a caminar."_ _(_ _Carlos my son. Let us go take a walk.)_

 _Still looking at the closed door he said, "_ _No puedo dejar a su papá. Ella es mi vida."_ _(_ _I can't leave her papa. She is my life.)_

 _"_ _Carlos, mírame mi hijo." (_ _Carlos, Look at me my son.)_

 _Ranger turned around with tears in his eyes and he didn't care who saw him. His father stepped to him and hugged him. Hard. While he still had him in the hug, Carlos' father said. "_ _Déjanos dar un paseo y encontrar un lugar para hablar."_ _(_ _Let us go take a walk and find a place to talk.)_

 _Then with his arm strongly around his son's shoulders and a little nudging, he got Ranger to start moving. They slowly walked side by side and as they passed in front of Carlos' mother, Bobby and Ella in the waiting room his father said, "_ _Volveremos."_ _(We will be back.)_

 ****

 **Chapter 14: Colonel Patricia Brandt**

Stephanie had been here before. Recently. That half-asleep, half-awake feeling with that damn machine, beeping and beeping and beeping.

Then she heard a very pleasant voice. "Stephanie? Can you open your eyes?"

What seemed like a year later, she found the strength to open them just a little.

"Welcome back." Came that pleasant voice again, "How are you feeling? Do you have any pain?"

She whispered back, "I have a headache."

"That's from the anesthesia. It's normal. Do you remember who I am?"

Stephanie slowly nodded. "Carlos' friend."

"Dr. Brandt that's right."

At that time Stephanie noticed someone else in the room.

"Daddy." She looked to the right side of the bed. "What are you doing back?"

"Tank called me this morning about your set back. I caught the first flight out." Frank Plum held her hand. "The doctors say that everything is fixed and you are going to be fine."

"How's Grandma?"

"Your grandmother and mom are there with Aunt Clara, who is doing well. Later tonight Albert's mother is coming in to look after the girls so Valerie and I are going fly back to Ohio tomorrow morning for the funeral."

Maybe it was the anesthesia or maybe it was the fact that she seemed so helpless but, Stephanie started to cry. "I'm sorry I can't be there with the family."

Stephanie's father put his hand on her chin and moved her head so that they could make eye contact with each other. "Now don't you get upset?" He said and he gently wiped away her tears with his thumbs. "Everyone knows about your operations and the only one who is upset that you aren't there is you. So stop feeling bad and get yourself healthy again."

"Miss Plum, your father's right. Having two surgeries one right after another is going to take a lot of rest, rehabilitation and concentration on your part." Dr. Brandt explained. "That is going to be your only goal right now."

Stephanie nodded her head. She understood. "Where is Carlos?"

"Oh, he's outside probably climbing the walls." Dr. Brandt laughed. That made Stephanie smile. "But you're only allowed one visitor at a time and were are going to move you back to your room so, he will just have to wait to see you."

"It's okay, I'm feeling very sleepy anyway." She paused. "Dr. Brandt, will you do me a favor?"

"If I can."

"Will you tell him that I love him?"

The doctor smiled as she pulled up the blanket and tucked her in snugly. "I'll be happy to."

And with that Stephanie closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

As they walked away from her bed Frank took the doctor's hand and whispered, "Thank you for saving my daughter life."

Dr. Brandt held his hand reassuringly, "To be quite honest, I really didn't do anything except make a lot of people nervous. I'm confident that the doctors here would have figured it out on their own in time. My arrival just sped up the process."

They stopped at the nurses' desk so she could sign the order to move Stephanie back to her regular hospital room. Dr. Brandt insisted that she stay in recovery and be allowed to sleep off the anesthesia first. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Absolutely." Frank said.

"How long have your daughter and Capt. Manoso, I'm sorry everyone here calls him Ranger, been seeing each other."

"That's confusing." He explained. "I guess on and off since the day they met years ago, but she officially moved in with him about 6 weeks ago."

Ranger immediately approached them as they returned to the waiting room. Before he could speak, Dr. Brandt held up her hand and said, "She's fine but she's back asleep right now. I've ordered them to let her sleep before they return her to her room." She was adamant. "So, you are just going to have to wait a little while longer."

He didn't like it, but he understood.

"Look, how about you and I go grab some food. Mr. Plum and your parents can stay here. My feet are killing me and I don't want to go alone. What do you say?"

He initially hesitated, but then Ranger considered everything that she had done for him and said, "Sounds like a good idea." And, now that he knew his Babe was going to be okay, he could eat again. _He couldn't remember the last time he ate!_

They followed the massive amount of directional hospital signs and the colored lines on the floor until they finally found the cafeteria. It was lunch time when they got there so Brandt went and secured a table and Ranger got them each a chef salad and a bottle of water.

"So, she's going to be okay?" He asked as he placed the tray on the table.

"She's got a tough few weeks ahead of her, but I think she's going to be fine. I expect another week in the hospital. Then a couple of weeks of minimum activities before she can be released to light duty. By the way, what does she do for a living?" Brandt asked as she added dressing to her salad.

Ranger ate his salad without dressing of course. "The majority of the week she is out in the field as a bounty hunter for her cousin and, she also works two days in the office at Rangeman. Plus she helps us with distractions or security work when there is a female client. She is very good at what she does."

They both took a minute or two to eat.

"May I ask you a question?" Ranger said. "Brown said that when he called you for advice you said that you would personally come because you owed me a favor. Can you explain?"

She smiled. "It wasn't necessarily for specific favor, as more as it was a curiosity. Bobby said that "your woman" was having difficulties." She took a sip of her water. "Call me crazy. I just wanted to meet the woman who caught you." She smiled adding. "And I have to say, I approve."

"I don't know if I like being described as being caught by any woman but yes ma'am, we are holding on tightly to each other."

He then confessed. "When she started to explain to me why she thought she wasn't getting any better she started to cry." Ranger's voice choked up just a little. "I lost all logical thought. The woman I love more than anyone else in the world was asking me for help and the only thing I could think of was to call Bobby." He ate another bite. "I'm so glad that he called you."

"I'm just glad everything worked out as well as it did." She added.

Col. Brandt pushed her chair back a little and crossed her legs at the knee. "You know, I've worked with many soldiers who never find their 'Stephanie'." Dr. Brandt used the typical finger gestures to indicate quotation marks when she "Stephanie."

"What?" Ranger asked for clarification.

"When I first see a soldier he or she is injured, many times unconscious. Regardless, over the course of their rehabilitation, the lucky ones can deal with the physical changes to their bodies, but so many leave my care with emotional scars."

Ranger nodded his head.

"They go on day to day just to survive, to repeat the same thing over and over. They don't get that emotional healing that comes from the love of another person. They don't find their 'Stephanie'."

Ranger just looked at his salad. He could relate to the description of those soldiers because he was one once. _He thought about the many ways his "Stephanie" has changed his life._

Brandt knew that she had touched a nerve. "By the way," she said, "when I was in recovery with her, she asked me to tell you that she loved you."

Ranger, who was still looking down just smiled.

Then the two just sat there and caught up on old acquaintances, Walter Reed Hospital, budget cuts for veterans and any other news about the Army until they finished their lunch. It was nice to relax with an old friend.

Eventually Dr. Brandt suggested, "Why don't we go see if she's back in her room yet?"

"Good idea." He thought. As they stood up Ranger hugged Col. Brandt.

Then Ranger threw their items into the recycling bins in the cafeteria and they started their hike back to Stephanie's room.

She asked. "I don't suppose you know where I can get about a thousand more Stephanies? I could really use them in my line of work."

"Sorry." he said adding "My Stephanie is one of a kind."

Author's Note: I've done some editing and I have condensed my original last two chapters into one.

 _In other words . . . one more chapter to go!_


	15. Chapter 15

**Standard Disclaimer: All characters belong to Janet Evanovich**

 _From Chapter 14_

" _Why don't we go see if she's back in her room yet?" Suggested Dr. Brandt as she got up._

 _"Good idea." He thought. As they stood up Ranger hugged Col. Brandt._

 _After Ranger threw their items in the recycling section of the cafeteria they started to hike back to Stephanie's room._

" _I don't suppose you know where I can get about a thousand more Stephanies? I could really use them in my line of work."_

 _"Sorry," he said adding "My Stephanie is one of a kind."_

 **Chapter. 15 Home**

 _ **Authors Note: I'm relying on Google for the Spanish translations.**_

Ranger knew that his Babe was going to be okay when she complained so much, that even the nurses encouraged Dr. Smith to let her go home early. And, although Ranger was apprehensive about the whole early release thing, Bobby told him that he was prepared to handle anything medical that came up. So, within five days of the second surgery, Stephanie Plum was wheeled to and helped into a Rangemen SUV.

When they got to Haywood Stephanie insisted on stopping on five to thank Ella and all of the men who helped her along the way. They even surprised her with a cake and balloons in the workroom.

Ranger pulled out the chair at the head of the table so she could sit down as the guest of honor. Ella started to cut the cake and the men started to get drinks for everyone.

During all of this excitement Stephanie looked around the break room. The paper calendar had been removed and replaced with a new digital device that showed not only the date, but the time and weather.

She smiled and gave a "thumbs up" to Tank who came and knelt down next to her. "Welcome home Little Girl. It's been a long time. I've missed you." He reached over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm so glad to be home. I've really missed you all." said Stephanie as ate a piece of cake and moaned. It had been a long time since she ate anything this good.

Eventually everybody returned to work and Ranger and Bobby helped Stephanie upstairs.

"I missed being home." She said as she walked into their apartment.

"I missed you being here too," said Ranger. "It's been very quiet without you."

Stephanie carefully made her way to the bar and checked on Rex. "Hey little guy, did you miss me?" Rex came out of his can and looked at Stephanie. Instead of immediately going back into his can he got on his wheel and started running. He was excited to see her.

"Well, quiet except for that squeaking wheel. That is driving me crazy." Joked Ranger.

"Maybe we can get Hector to come up with something else for Rex. By the way, I haven't heard or seen Hector in a long time. Is he okay?" She asked.

Ranger quickly answered, "He's been on vacation. He's due back today or tomorrow."

"Okay Beautiful, it's time for you to go lie down!" Bobby said. "Doctors orders!"

For once Stephanie didn't argue. She knew that she was tired just from the welcome home festivities and she didn't plan to give Bobby a hard time at all.

"Yes sir. I'm looking forward to getting back to my bed. I only wish I could make it more enjoyable, if you know what I mean?"

"I'm sure that I won't have to worry about you two in that regards right?" Bobby asked.

"We know. No sex for a while. We're not happy with it but, we understand. Dammit!" Stephanie said under her breath.

She went to her side of the bed and before she knew it Ranger was right there to bend down and remove her shoes.

"Carlos, you know I can take off my own shoes. I'm not that pitiful."

"Nobody ever said that you were pitiful." He reached up and kissed her. "But you did just get out of the hospital and I for one don't want you to ever go back." Then he reached into her bag and pulled out the socks that they made her wear in the hospital. The ones with the rubber stripes on the soles of the socks.

"We're not going to let you slip here either okay."

"I wish these socks were a little more fashionable. They are so warm." Stephanie thought. _Maybe I can think about a way to jazz them up. Maybe some neon-colored rubber stripes. I'll talk to Hector when he gets back._ _  
_  
"You're due for medication in 90 minutes, so I'll see you then." Bobby explained.

"And I'm going to be working in my office up here for a while, so I'll just be a step away if you need me. Okay?" Ranger said as he leaned down and kissed her again.

"Okay. Thanks. I'm going to take a nap." She laid down and he covered her up with the comforter and then she closed her eyes.

Bobby and Ranger went to the kitchen to grab some water. "She's going to be okay right? You know I wasn't happy about taking her out of the hospital so soon?" Ranger asked for the tenth time.

"Look, she's going to be fine as long as she gets her rest. The tough part is going to be controlling your moms and her friends from over visiting."

"That's when living in a secure building comes in handy. We just won't let them in." Ranger said knowing that keeping Helen Plum and his own mother away would be difficult.

"By the way," Bobby said, "remember when you asked me to find out what happened to her uncle in Vietnam?"

"Yes."

"I sent off the request for public information and I got it yesterday. He reached in his pocket and took out the folded letter.

"Raymond Aldon Mazur, was injured on the 18th of April, 1975 while defending the Newport Bridge north of Saigon."

"That's less than two weeks before America left. The fall of Saigon was the 29th right?" Ranger said.

"Yes you're right." Bobby said. Then he handed the paper to Ranger.

"It's tough to read with all of the medical terminology but basically her uncle had severe shrapnel to his lower abdomen and groin. The doctors performed many surgeries but initially, there was just too much nerve damage. He was left impotent"

"That's why they never had children." He said as he folded the paper.  
Ranger thought that her Uncle Ray was so fortunate to find Clara, the love of his life _. Dr. Brandt was right again about the emotional healing for soldiers._

"Okay well, I'll see you in an hour and a half for her medication."

"Thank you Bobby."

Ranger went into his office and sat down to tackle some of the paperwork that was a part of his daily life? While he waited for his computer to come on he looked at the two framed pictures on his desk. One was a picture of Julie at her first communion. The other was the picture of Stephanie looking at the caterpillar. He couldn't help but smile looking at the beautiful women in his life.

-RSRSRS-

Within the next two weeks Stephanie made great strides in her recovery. Dr. Smith came to Haywood and was impressed with Bobby's care, his medical clinic and Rangeman itself. Dr. Smith even made an appointment to have his house set up with a security system.

Stephanie was given a basic physical therapy plan that she could do in the gym downstairs and, as long as she didn't overdo it, she could start working at her desk at Rangeman and even go out for lunch or dinner.

Connie and Lula came by to take her to lunch the next day. They went to El Ponchos again but this time Stephanie wore stretch pants. She had lost some weight since the appendectomy and she planned to enjoy herself. They did promise Ranger that this lunch would be alcohol free.

"Vinnie is going crazy you know. He can't wait until you come back to work. He thinks them 'Appendix Gods' are out to get him. You know." Connie said.

"A car bomb killed Morty Beyers, not his appendix." Lula said. "Vinnie is such a loser. But at least he's out there again picking up skips."

"I cannot believe that," laughed Stephanie and she dipped a chip into the salsa.

They chatted a while and of course Mateo took good care of them as always.

Ranger met them in the garage when they returned. He carefully helped his Babe out of the car.

"Thanks guys, I had a great time. Tell, Vinnie I said hello." Stephanie said as they drove away.

Ranger placed his arm around her waist and supported her as they rode up the elevator.

In the elevator he said, "Lester reported that Peerless is very happy with our service and the new employees are working out well. He's thinking about finding a place around Secaucus to make his commute nonexistent. I was thinking that we should take a ride up there tomorrow. Just to check up on him. Do you think you can handle that?"

"I'd like that." She said. When they got to the apartment she looked at her watch and went to the refrigerator and grabbed a water bottle and turned on the TV. It was _Judge Judy_ time.

Ranger went in his office and called Hector. "Saldremos todo el día mañana. ¿Puedes instalarlo entonces?" _(_ _We will be out all day tomorrow. Can you install it then?)_

"Si."

"Gracias."

-RSRSRS-

The next morning at 0500 Ranger and Stephanie went to the gym. Ranger did his usual exercises while Stephanie was regulated to the treadmill. Walking only. After that, they showered with just a little touchy-feely, and they ate some breakfast before they left for Peerless.

The weather was great and they even stopped in to see Carlos' parents. This time Ranger and Stephanie took them out to brunch and while they were eating it was decided that they would all travel to see Lester and the new private jet airport.

When they got there they were very impressed as Lester gave them all a tour of the facilities.

On the way back to Newark, the ladies sat in the back and the men took the front seats. Ranger was enjoying his new relationship with his parents, especially his father.

It was a little after 5:00 when they returned to Haywood. As much as she enjoyed her day, Stephanie was glad to be home. When they opened the door to the apartment she went immediately to the bathroom and Ranger went to his office to make a phone call.

"Hector. ¿Ya está hecho?" He asked. _(Hector. Is it done?)_

"Si." Then Hector explained how to work the new remote that he left on Ranger's desk.

When he hung up, Ranger took the remote and found Stephanie lying on their bed. He closed the door to the bedroom and laid down next to you her.

"I'm so proud of Lester and I know that your parents are proud as well. Your mom and aunt are going to start looking for a house for him to buy." His Babe said.

"I'm sure they will drive him crazy in the meantime, but yes, we are all proud of him."

They both laid there for a while. Ranger scanned the room with his eyes. He couldn't see any changes. He hoped that Hector got it to work.

"Babe, will you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"I have a present for you. Would you please close your eyes for me?"

"Carlos you know we can't have sex yet and as much as I want to . . ."

"No, it's not sex. Just please close your eyes for me."

"Okay. They are closed."

"Good. Now don't open them until I tell you to okay?"

"Yes Dear." She was intrigued.

Ranger took the remote and pointed it to where Hector told him to and pushed the button. "Wow!" Ranger said under his breath.

"Can I open my eyes yet?"

"No, not yet!" He paused and grabbed Stephanie's left hand. "There is something I want to say to you."

"With my eyes closed?" She said.

"Yes, with your eyes closed, please."

It took him a minute but then he started. "We've been through a lot the past few weeks and I've been giving some things a lot of thought. You know I love you right?"

Stephanie squeezed his hand. She was getting a little nervous laying there with her eyes closed. "Yes, and I love you too."

"Well, you know that I told you that Hector had been on vacation right?" He said. "Well, I lied. He wasn't on vacation. He was doing something for me . . . well for us . . . and well . . . you can open your eyes now."

She was apprehensive but she slowly opened her eyes. She was stunned. On the ceiling of their darkened bedroom were the exact same stars that they saw in the state park. "How? I can't believe this!"

"I know. It's amazing! I don't know how he did it. He's just very good at what he does. Huh?"

They both took a minute to gaze at the ceiling.

Ranger started to explain. "Weeks ago when we came back from our trip, I told him where we were and how much you and I enjoyed looking at the stars and that I wished I could give them to you as a present."

Stephanie's eyes started getting misty.

"And he came up with a way to help me give you the stars. So believe or not Hector hiked to where we camped out, and then he told me that he digitally recorded the night sky and he figured out a way to project it on the ceiling! Cool huh? According to him, we can watch this projection for four hours before it loops around to the beginning. He's good." _He is definitely getting a raise._

Ranger squeezed her hand. "I know this is going to sound a little sappy but," he cleared his throat, "But I lost myself in you that night."

"That's not sappy Carlos. It's sweet."

"Look, there is even the satellite." She pointed. She couldn't help it. She started to cry. "Nobody has ever given me anything like this before. I don't know what to say." She reached over to the nightstand and grabbed a tissue to wipe her eyes. "I haven't been able to shop for gifts in a while and the holidays are coming up and . . ."

He cut her off. "You have no idea do you?"

"About what?"

"About the gifts that you give."

"You mean the pine cones?"

"No," he started to laugh and then rolled on his side so that he could look his Babe in the eyes.

"You give so much every day. You help out your "regulars" as you call them when you bring them food or blankets or whatever they need. The men who work here adore you because you make them smile and accept them for who they are when other people avoid them. You give more "life" than anyone I know."

She smiled. "Thanks. That's one of the nicest things you've ever said to me."

They kissed and hugged and even though they wished the no sex rule was over, they just looked up at the stars for hours.

 _¡Su amor fue eterno!_ \- _Their love was everlasting._

The End

-RSRSRS-

 **Authors note:**

Remember that life is not always funny, and that life is not always sad, but either way . . . life is an adventure.

I hope that you enjoyed the story.

Thank you all for your funny and insightful comments. They were appreciated.

 _Whew! I'm done!_


End file.
